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Waves wash over black sand beneath quiet sea stacks.

Iceland · ReynisfjaraBlack Sand Tides

Legend says two trolls hauling a ship ashore were caught by dawn and turned into the stacks offshore.

What you’ll hear

  • Surf
  • Sea breeze
  • Seabirds
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In the 3D scene you can change the time, season and weather, or follow the local time.

About this place

Reynisfjara lies on Iceland’s south coast just west of the village of Vík, under the 340 m Reynisfjall. Its sand is volcanic rock and ash ground down by the sea; basalt columns stand at the foot of the cliff, and the Reynisdrangar stacks offshore reach 66 m. The surf is unpredictable, with waves that surge far up the beach even on calm days, so the local rule is never to turn your back on the sea. Midsummer days last about 20½ hours and the night never fully darkens; at midwinter there are only about 4½.

Fulmars nest all over the cliffs and stacks. Puffins return in late April and May to raise their chicks on the grassy slopes and leave by mid-August. Arctic terns hover over the surf, oystercatchers follow the retreating waterline, and sheep roam the hillsides from late spring until the September round-up. From late June to early July the slopes below the cliffs are covered in lupins. On the Dyrhólaey headland to the west stands a lighthouse built in 1927, flashing white every 10 seconds.

Through the year

DaylightPuffins
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Daylight is calculated from the latitude; the puffin row is a rough guide from published sources.

Month by month

  1. JanuaryFive or six hours of daylight; occasional snow
  2. FebruaryLonger days; aurora on dark clear nights
  3. MarchEquinox: day and night are equal
  4. AprilThe first puffins return late in the month
  5. MayFrom late month the night never fully darkens
  6. JuneAbout 20½ hours of daylight at the solstice
  7. JulyLupins peak early; puffins are feeding chicks
  8. AugustPuffins leave mid-month; dark nights return
  9. SeptemberSheep are rounded up; aurora season begins
  10. OctoberThe slopes turn tawny
  11. NovemberDaylight shrinks to six or seven hours
  12. DecemberAbout 4½ hours of daylight at the solstice

Four seasons

  • Late May · Spring

    Puffins are back on the cliffs, the slopes are greening, and at 1 am the sky is still blue-grey.

  • Late August · Summer

    The clifftop grass is at its greenest and a low evening sun warms the stacks and the surf.

  • Mid-October · Autumn

    The slopes turn tawny, the days shorten, and clear nights may bring the aurora.

  • January · Winter

    Five or six hours of daylight, snow on the cliffs, and only the waves moving on the black sand.

Best moments

  • Black sand in summer

    Black sand in summer

    Aug 20 · 13:20 · Clear

    An August afternoon: white surf rolls up the black sand under cliffs at their greenest.

  • Late summer glow

    Late summer glow

    Aug 20 · 20:45 · Clear

    Past eight the sun still hangs over the sea, warming the sea stacks and the surf.

  • A May white night

    A May white night

    May 20 · 01:10 · Clear

    One in the morning in May: the sky never goes fully dark and sea and sand are blue-grey.

  • Autumn low sun

    Autumn low sun

    Oct 15 · 17:35 · Clear

    An October evening with low sun breaking through cloud and the clifftop grass gone gold.

  • Snow on black sand

    Snow on black sand

    Jan 18 · 13:25 · Snow

    January snow covers the cliffs; on the black beach only the waves keep moving.

  • Sea stacks at sunset

    Sea stacks at sunset

    Aug 20 · 20:45 · Clear · Sea islands

    Facing the open sea as the sun drops behind the stacks and lays a band of light on the water.

  • At the waterline

    At the waterline

    Aug 20 · 20:45 · Clear · Shoreline

    Down at the waterline, each retreating wave leaves a shining film on the black sand.

  • Sea fog

    Sea fog

    Aug 20 · 13:20 · Fog

    Fog rolls in off the sea, the stacks fade to outlines and the surf sounds closer.

The coast, stacks and lighthouse are rearranged for the composition, so bearings and positions are not surveyed, and the seabirds and lighthouse are drawn larger than life. The heavy surf was recorded at Reynisfjara itself; a few calls, including the puffins, are the same species recorded elsewhere.

In the 3D scene you can change the time, season and weather, or follow the local time.

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