Iceland Black Sand Beach

Iceland's black beaches are made of basalt, a dark volcanic rock that the waves grind down into smooth pebbles and sand. Sea stacks rise out of the surf under a gray Atlantic sky, a moody setting for an Iceland jigsaw puzzle. Icelandic stories often explain odd rocks as trolls who were caught by the sunrise and turned to stone. Signs on these beaches warn visitors about sneaker waves, which can run much farther up the sand than the ones before them.