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Chris

Chris is an accomplished explorer, photographer, creative director, speaker, and author. Traveling throughout the year to pursue the farthest expanses of Earth, Burkard works to capture stories that inspire humans to consider their relationship with nature, while promoting the preservation of wild places everywhere.

Chris Burkard
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North to the Future

Under the arctic sky

A Line In The Sand

UNNUR

At
Glacier's
End

At
Glacier's
End

A story of vast explora
tion.

Captured from
3000 feet

Icelands glacial rivers are nature's abstract paintings. It seems obvious that rivers this wild and stunning are protected, yet the harsh reality is that many have been dammed, mainly to provide power for aluminum plants. A massive conservation movement is underway to preserve these rivers, but will it succeed? At Glaciers End gives a voice to Icelands glacial rivers providing both a cultural and environmental perspective on the journey from glacier to sea.

Exploring Iceland's intricate glacial rivers with photographer

Chris Burkard

and writer Matt McDonald

Every stream is a moving, living museum.

FROM HEADWATER
TO RIVER MOUTH

MANY
SEE
BEAUTY

Beauty Beauty

OTHERS
SEE
MONEY

Iceland’s leaders looked to other resources where they had a unique advantage, and they finally noticed the power of their glacial rivers. They could be more than just beautiful, their flow could be turned into money. There was an industry desperate for cheap power. Aluminum production, or smelting, is one of the most energy intensive industries in the world. Once the aluminum industry discovered that operating in Iceland was one-third cheaper than the global average, massive foreign companies began vying for control of Iceland’s “cheap” glacial power. The government put forth plans to harness all of Iceland’s major rivers. Dams, and the heavy industries that swallowed up their power, were to be the new pillar that propped up the struggling Icelandic fishing industry. This was Iceland’s chance at its own Industrial Revolution.

It’s a pivotal time to be humans.
We didn’t ask for it, but here we are. Our entire history and survival has been a journey dependent upon the land. Yet, our modern world insists that we are separate – somehow superior – masters of our environments. It’s infinitely easier to keep a river a river than to turn a dam back into a river. A few more large dams will have a significant impact on Iceland’s rivers and landscape. Currently, Iceland’s government is working hard to create a Highland National Park, which will protect much, if not all, of the Highland – the source of these great glacial rivers – from future industrial development. The result of this national park process will make a powerful statement about what the country values. Will it be industry, or preserving the land for human health and enjoyment? The decision will determine what millions and millions of us will discover in the Iceland of the future.
Without water there is no us.

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Photography by Chris Burkard Words by MATT MCDONALD
Icelandic Pilot HARALDUR DIEGO
Icelandic poet, author, and environmentalist ANDRI MAGNASON
Project Manager, Highland National Park STEINAR KALDAL
Microsite design HARLEY OLIVER Microsite development FIRESCRIPT
Chris Burkard Studio