At the southern end of Mývatn lies the small village of Skútustaðir. It is surrounded by pseudocraters, and that is something quite special. Pseudocraters are not volcanic craters. They are formed when lava intrudes into a lake. The water evaporates, and sooner or later the pressure becomes so high that the steam is pushed up through the lava. This is how pseudo craters are formed, rounded and beautiful in shape, but they are not volcanoes, as they never erupted lava themselves.
The grassy pseudocraters form an interesting frame around the mini-lake Stakhólstjörn, which is located inside lake Mývatn. The place is well arranged with paths all the way around and up on the crater rim to some of the pseudocraters. Stakhólstjörn is a paradise for birds, you can observe many swans, ducks and geese on the water.
Stakhólstjörn has an outlet to Mývatn through the little river Skipaskráður, which can be crossed over a small bridge. It is nice to swim here. We were concerned about the amount of bird droppings in Stakhólstjörn, and chosed swimming in Mývatn itself. The water is clear and nice, but terribly shallow. Swim with your hands, otherwise you’ll get scratches on your knees!
The technical section of tobatheornottobathe unfortunately has not been able to find the pictures we both remember to have taken, so this bath will stay undocumented!