The beautiful Viking stave church in Vestmannaeyjar islands | Icelandmag The beautiful Viking stave church in Vestmannaeyjar islands Tweet Rooted in history The stave church is located at the old harbour in Heimaey island. The big cliff to the left is called Heimaklettur and is one of the island's most famous landmarks. Photo/Vilhelm Gunnarsson Although the beautiful stave church on the island of Heimaey in the Westman Islands is not as old as you might think, its roots go deep in history. It was built and consecrated in the year 2000, and presented to the Icelandic nation by Norway in commemoration of the thousand-year anniversary of Iceland’s conversion to Christianity, and contains a replica of the Norwegian medieval altarpiece of Saint Olav. The architecture and the building methods are from the period just after the close of the Viking Age in the 1100 and 1200’s, the church being a replica of the Norwegian Haltdalen stave church , which was built around 1170.

The location is called Skansinn and is a part of the harbor of the town of Vestmannaeyjabær on Heimaey, the largest and only inhabited island of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. It’s located on land that was formed in the huge 1973 eruption, as were the black walls of lava right behind it. The 15 islands and about 30 skerries of the Westman archipelago lie off the south coast of Iceland, along a linear volcanic system that consists of 70–80 volcanoes both above and below the sea. The islands have been formed by eruptions over the past 10,000 to 12,000 years, one of which was the 1973 eruption of the volcano Eldfell, right in the middle of the town of Vestmannaeyjabær, another being the infamous eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. The ferry ride to Heimaey island is only 30 minutes from Landeyjarhöfn harbor. It’s a visit you should not miss.

Vestmannaeyjar | Guide to Iceland View Eldfell Eldfell ('Mountain of Fire') is a composite volcano cone in Heimaey in the Westman Islands. It is just over 200 meters high. The vol... View Surtsey Surtsey is a volcanic island, part of the Westman Islands and formed by an underwater volcanic eruption in 1963. Surtsey was declared a na... View Gljúfrabúi Gljufrabui ("Canyon Dweller“) is a beautiful waterfall located at Hamragardar in South Iceland, close to its better known counterpar... View Seljalandsfoss Seljalandsfoss in the river Seljalandsa in South Iceland is one of the most sought waterfalls in the country. Seljalandsfoss has a narrow cas... View Akurey Akurey is a small island in Kollafjordur bay, off the shore of Reykjavik. There is plenty of birdlife in the island as many puffins nest the... View Fljótshlíð Fljotshlid is a beautiful farming district in southern Iceland.

It is one of the main sites for Njal's Saga, a masterpiece of the saga lit... View Hvolsvöllur Hvolsvollur is a small town of 800 people in South Iceland, conveniently located by the ring road. The local airport has flights to the Westman Island... View Eyjafjallajökull The glacier volcano of Eyjafjallajokull (1651 m) is located at the borders of the South Icelandic highlands. It featured prominently in world ... View Skógafoss Skogafoss is one of the biggest and most beautiful waterfalls of the island with an astounding width of 25 meters and a drop of 60 meters... View Skógar Skogar, in South Iceland, is a popular destination for travelers. It has a population of about 20 people, features a regional museum and and is close ... View Skriðuklaustur Skriduklaustur is a culture and learning institute in the valley of Fljotsdalur in East Iceland. It is a historical site and home to the Gunnar instit...

View Gígjökull Gigjokull is one of two glacier outlets from the glacier volcano Eyjafjallajokull, the other being Steinholtsjokull. The 2010 Eyjafjallajokull erupt... View South Shore From Reykjanesta and the next 100 km onwards, the south shore is characterized by lava formations constantly battered by the wild ocean waves... View Stakkholtsgjá Stakkholtsgja is an up to 100 meters deep and 2 kilometers long canyon in South Iceland. The canyon is located near the entrance to Tho... View Miðás Breeding Farm Midas is a horse farm near Hella in South Iceland. The farm is run by farmers Asta Begga Olafsdottir and Gisli Sveinsson. It features a stable, a r... View Hella Hella is a small town of around 781 people (as of 2011), located in South Iceland, around 94 km from the capital. It is an important regional center f...

View Sólheimasandur Solheimasandur is a vast area of sand and gravel along the south coast of Iceland, between the cliffs of the interior and the modern shoreline. It was... View Magni Magni is one of the two youngest craters in Iceland, along with Modi. The craters are situated between glaciers Myrdalsjokull and Eyjafjalla... View Móði Modi is one of the two youngest craters in Iceland, along with Magni. These two craters are situated between glaciers Myrdalsjokull and Eyjaf... On the Puffin Cliffs of Iceland's Westman Islands [slideshow] | All About Birds The Pribilof Islands—Galapagos of the North I’m spending 10 days in Iceland to learn about research on Atlantic Puffins. My host is Erpur Hansen , an Icelandic biologist who has been studying puffins here since 2007. He visits most of the country´s large puffin colonies twice each year to assess their breeding success. And that’s no small task, as nearly half of the world’s Atlantic Puffins breed on this small nation in the North Atlantic.

The grass-topped cliffs and sea stacks that rise out of the ocean here are home to some 2.5 million breeding pairs. We’ve started on Hansen’s home turf, the Westman Islands. Their Icelandic name, Vestmannaeyjar, has a mighty ring to it when you read it off the sterns of the fishing boats in the harbor. This string of islands off Iceland’s south coast mark where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge surfaces—where the North Atlantic and Eurasian plates meet like the seam on a baseball. Volcanic activity is high here, and the islands are towering cliffs of basalt and tuff, wave-worn at the base or, higher up, eroded into smooth fluting columns by rain and bird guano. Above the sheer cliffs the islands slope toward their peaks. Here grass can get a foothold and turn the lava rock into soil. Puffins promptly turn this soil into burrows in which they lay their single egg each year, largely safe from predators. And so it is that you can walk along the cliffs and see hundreds of the little black-and-white birds looking out to sea, their sharp black backs, white chests, and impossibly brilliant bills gleaming in the sun.

Out in the water, the white cheeks of thousands more puffins sparkle among the waves as the sun angles toward a leisurely sunset around 11:30 p.m. These steep hillsides are the kind of place where you need to watch your step. I follow Hansen’s lead as we climb down the cliffs on a ladder bolted to the rock to reach a band of bright-green grass below. It’s hummocky—quite good footing, actually, and riddled with burrows. Every yard or two in any direction is a small earthen hole, just as big around as a puffin, that stretches back about 4 feet into the soil. Though the burrows are easy to find, they hide the part that Hansen needs to know about: how many puffins have decided to breed this summer? The ones that have are nestled inside the burrows, well out of sight, with an egg tucked under a wing to keep it warm. To find out, Hansen has adopted a trick he learned from his friend Marino, a plumber and former puffin hunter. He pushes a stiff cable into the burrow with a lipstick camera and infrared light attached to the end.

Then, wearing video goggles, he can watch a gray-and-white image of the burrow’s contents. If at the end of the burrow he sees the white cheek and curving bill of a puffin, he marks the burrow as occupied. He’ll return in late summer to see how many are still raising chicks. Each burrow takes only a few minutes to check, but Hansen has a lot of burrows to get to. He’s interested in whether warming waters are changing the fish stocks around Iceland, particularly the small sandeels that feed many of the region’s seabird species. In most of southern Iceland there has been virtually no puffin breeding success since 2005. The little seabirds can live for 20 years or more, so their population size is still high, but Hansen worries that so many consecutive breeding failures mean fewer puffins in the future. And he wonders when—or if—the system will turn around and the sandeels will return. The Icelandic Puffin Rally, as Hansen calls his two-week road trip, is a burrow-checking marathon. Hansen and his assistants, Ph.D.

student Lucy Quinn from the University of Aberdeen, and marine ecologist Nick Richardson, will drive around the entire country clockwise, stopping in on most of the country’s colonies. I’ll be with them for about half of it, along with my photographer colleague Chris Linder . Though we’re still getting started, we’ve already seen enough to be amazed by the sheer number of seabirds that nest along these coasts. Vestmannaeyjar is home to Iceland’s largest Atlantic Puffin, Northern Gannet, Northern Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, and Leach’s Storm-Petrel colonies. It’s also home to thousands of Common Murres, Black Guillemots, Black-legged Kittiwakes, and Razorbills. We’ve seen minke whales, harbor porpoises, and seals as well. That any of these species can exist in this frigid water or on these forbidding cliffs is a testament to the abilities of animals to adapt to harsh environments. Together, they’re a potent reminder that these cold northern seas can produce immense volumes of food for animals and people alike, if they stay healthy.

More coverage of puffin research in Iceland: The Westman Islands – Why Go Iceland in Travel Guide tagged day trips / explore / guest post / nature / Travel Guide / westman islands by Admin As you travel from the south coast of Iceland, a garrison of emerald-topped sentinels rises dramatically from the North Atlantic. The Westman Islands lie roughly seven miles south of the Icelandic mainland, an isolated outpost of hearty fishermen, puffin colonies, and volcanic fury. This archipelago of 15-18 islands (depending on the tide) are among the youngest land masses on earth – with the island of Surtsey formed as recently as 1967 from an outflow of cooling lava. The island of Heimaey is the only island permanently populated – although you may glimpse the occasional cabin built on one of the neighboring islands to shelter puffin hunters. With just over 4000 residents, Heimaey is an important fishing port – and the town on the five square mile island seems to enjoy a high standard of living. The turbulent story of the Westman Islands has been unfolding for centuries.

They were named for a group of Irish slaves who killed their captors in about 840 AD on the Icelandic mainland and escaped to land briefly on these rocky volcanic islands, before themselves being killed by the slaveholder’s brother. Eventually settled by Icelanders, the islands then endured repeated raids by Turkish pirates in the 17th century, with many residents killed or sold into slavery. While the islands have often been threatened from afar, the more consistent threat has come from the very force of nature that created them. On Heimaey, two ominous peaks – named Eldfell and Helgafell – loom over the town, and have periodically erupted into lava-spewing fury. In 1973, Eldfell began a late-night eruption that made the dark night glow in a terrifying plume of lava that began a rampage into the town. By the time the lava stopped flowing over five months later, the residents of Heimaey had lost several hundred homes and buildings to the lava flow, and barely managed to save the harbor so vital to their way of life from being filled in. Despite its frightening history, however, the Westman Islands present an accessible and fascinating side trip for visitors to the Icelandic mainland.

One option is a 25-minute flight from Reykjavik, where Air Iceland typically departs for Heimaey four times daily for as little as $83 for the round-trip fare. A second option is the new ferry crossing from Landeyjahofn, a route just opened in July of 2010. While the previous ferry route took three hours over often-choppy seas, the new route is much closer – taking only 30 minutes, and sailing up to seven times daily. To get to Landeyjahofn harbor from Reykjavik, you can either drive a rental car or take the Sterna bus route #900a – a two-hour connection that runs about $26 each way. If you have a rental car, you can take it along on the ferry for $12 each way (adult fare is $8, and children are $4, each way) – but a car is not really necessary on Heimaey. Providing the weather cooperates, the island is charmingly walkable. DOWNLOAD OUR TRAVEL GUIDES DOWNLOAD NOW Arriving at the island of Heimaey, the traveler already feels like a rugged adventurer.

High winds can make the flight turbulent and choppy seas can make the ferry ride bumpy – but when you set foot on the island, it all seems worthwhile. The towering rock formations and dark peaks of Eldfell and Helgafell overhead contrast with the bright-green grass and relaxed, pastoral feel of the countryside. Always, the sea is nearby – and the view of the archipelago’s other islands depends on the whim of the weather. Stepping off of the ferry – or a short walk from airport – will put you into the peaceful town of Heimaey. The moment you begin to talk to locals, the friendly welcome is evident. Proud of their island and happy to share it with tourists, you will be treated like a guest. A volcanic film theater and a combined aquarium/natural history museum make for interesting stops in the town. A number of laid-back restaurants (like the Volcano Café and Café Kro – both near the harbor side) are sprinkled throughout town. A number of independent activities are available, including golf, hiking and bird watching. However, the best way to experience the Westmans is a tour.

At Café Kro, you can take in a meal, watch a documentary about the 1973 eruption, and book a tour through Viking Tours ( ) – either by land or by sea (weather and ocean conditions permitting). This family-run establishment will feed you, educate you, show you around and even give you a ride back to the airport (if flying out) for a very reasonable price. We took the land tour of the island, as the sea was too choppy the day we visited. Our young, witty guide (Unnar Gisli) provided a great mix of local flavor, knowledge of history, and humor as he drove us around sites on the island. On the south point of the island – site of one of the world’s largest puffin colonies – sheep and bird share a perch atop the craggy, blustery cliffs overlooking the sea. Near the harbor side is a beautiful replica of a Scandinavian stave-style church, celebrating 1000 years of Christianity in Iceland. The lava field – which brings an abrupt end to the streets of clean, bright-colored homes on the east end of town – is a fascinating modern archaeological site, sometimes referred to as “Pompeii of the North”.

Street signs driven into the lava several feet above the rooflines pay respect to the homes buried underneath – and many of the homes on the edge of the lava flow have begun to be dug out, an activity in which tourists are invited to participate. Flower-strewn trails crisscross the top of the lava field. This is an excellent picnic spot from which to view the harbor and town below and the volcanic peaks above. The great thing about the Westman Islands is that it can easily be done as a one-day trip. We arrived in Heimaey in time for breakfast, returned to Reykjavik after dinner, and still felt like we got a great experience of the place. However, if you have time, you may just decide that the friendly islanders and beautiful setting warrant more time (which is truly understandable). In that case, a handful of hotels, hostels, and guesthouses are available – including Guesthouse Hreiðrið, Guesthouse Sunnuholl, and Hotel Þórshamar. More information on lodging and other aspects of travel to the Westman Islands is available at . Jim Reynoldson is an avid traveler and writer who blogs at jimbonvoyage .

You can read more of his writing and learn about his recent trip to Iceland there. All photos courtesy of Jim Reynoldson and may not be used without permission. General information about Westman Islands General information General Information about Westman Islands - Vestmannaeyjar Vestmannaeyjar is a small group of islands off the south coast of Iceland. There are a total of 14 islands in addition to a number of rocks and skerries that make up the archipelago. Only the largest island, Heimaey, is inhabited though several of the outer islands each have a small cabin that is used over the summer during bird hunting season. Beginnings The name of the islands, Vestmannaeyjar or Westman Islands, originates from the time when the Irish slaves of Hjörleifur Hróðmarsson who farmed on the south coast, fled to the islands after killing their master at Hjörleifshöfða. Hjörleifur's foster brother, Ingólfur Arnarson, found where the slaves had landed in Vestmannaeyjar and that place still bears the name of Slave Isthmus.

To avenge the murder of his brother, Ingólfur hunted down all the slaves and killed them. Locations in Vestmannaeyjar still bear the names from that event, such as Dufþekja on Heimaklettur, the large bluff at the north of the harbor where Dufþakur, the leader of the slaves, is said to have thrown himself from the cliffs in order to avoid being caught by Ingólfur. To the first Icelanders who came from Norway the Irish were known as "West men," thus the name, Westman Islands, after the Irish slaves who were killed there. There still seem to be a number of unanswered questions about who first settled in Vestmannaeyjar, but the first settler on the island of Heimaey was thought to have been Herjólfur Bárðarson who built his homestead in the valley Herjólfsdalur which was named after him. One of the reasons that particular location was chosen for building a home was that it was one of the few places on the island where fresh water could be found.

According to the history book of Landnám, Herjólfur settled on the island around the year 900, but archeological excavations done at the end of the last century indicate that the area had been built up 100 years earlier. Old stories recount that Herjólfur's farmstead was destroyed when it was covered by a landslide. The Fishing Industry From the very earliest times, the islanders have provided for themselves with the bounty that they have sought at sea. Excellent fishing grounds are located very close by and since the island was inhabited, Vestmannaeyjar has always been the country's most profitable fishing harbor. For centuries men rowed in open boats to the fishing grounds using the same equipment of lines and hooks. The most important revolution in working conditions ever seen in Vestmannaeyjar occurred near the turn of the last century. At that time the fishing fleet was motorized and the equipment was extensively improved to enable much larger catches. As a result of these industrial improvements the population of the island grew very quickly in a short time. In 1900 the population was 500, but by 1925 it had increased to 3,200.

The largest population recorded was in 1971 standing at 5,200. In 2006 it was 4,200. In addition to motorizing the fleet and modernizing the fishing equipment, substantial progress was made in how the catch was processed. The most significant innovation was that of freezing the fish, which replaced the older custom of salting it. Today there are two very large processing plants on the island in addition to a number of smaller companies. The larger freezing plants have specialized in processing catches of herring and capelin, as well as lobster. Most of the smaller companies work mainly with fish such as cod, haddock, and pollock among other species. A large portion of the catch is shipped fresh from Vestmannaeyjar, mostly to European markets. Farming and Natural Resources from the Cliffs The islanders have for centuries also made use of other abundant natural resources besides those provided by the sea. Numerous species of seabirds nest in the steep rock faces along the ocean cliffs and high on the bluffs surrounding the island, and collecting eggs and bird hunting have always been valuable sources of sustenance.

Eggs were collected early each spring from the gulls and guillemots, puffins were hunted during the summer months, and towards the end of the summers young gulls and gannets were caught. In the past, fish and bird catches insured that Vestmannaeyjar had a rich abundance of food, more during those times than in many other parts of the country. Some of these traditional food sources are still utilized today. In addition to fishing and bird hunting, farming was also a part of island life from the earliest times. Farmers raised both sheep and dairy cows and for a long time the islanders were quite self sufficient. Once Icelanders started to grow vegetables such as potatoes and other root vegetables, gardens also became a common sight on Heimaey. During recent years however, farming hasbecome less common though "hobby" farmers still maintain small flocks of sheep and there are horses for riding.

Text: Sigurgeir Jónsson Translation to English: Margo Renner Iceland Today volcano number: 1702-01= (according to Volcanoes of the World, 1994 edition) summit elevation: 225 m (Helgafell cone) location: 63.43°N, 20.28°W Heimaey is the largest island of the Vestmannaeyjar ("Westman Islands") archipelago, south of the SSW coast of Iceland. The distance of Heimaey from the nearest spot on the "mainland" is about 10 km. The archipelago is made up of 15 larger islands and at least 30 islets, being rather isolated rocks barely protruding above the sea level (see the overview map of the Vestmannaeyjar, 155 kb JPG ; the map was taken from Schutzbach 1985). Numerous submarine eruptive centers have been located as well. The southernmost of the islands is the famous emergent volcano of Surtsey, formed during an eruption that lasted from 1963 until 1967.

The archipelago lies in the southernmost part of the Eastern Volcanic Zone of Iceland (also called Main Volcanic Zone) that runs roughly NE-SW across Iceland . The area comprises some of Iceland's most famous and most active volcanoes, such as Katla, Hekla and Grìmsv&oumltn. The southernmost part of the Eastern Volcanic Zone is considered by some authors (e.g., Thy 1991) a propagating rift, others believe that volcanism in that area is not associated with rifting. Concordant with propagating rift models, magmas erupted in the Vestmannaeyjar are slightly more alkalic than typical Mid Ocean Ridge Basalts (MORB), ranging from hawaiites to mugearites in composition. The absence of active volcanism south of the Vestmannaeyjar speaks in favor of the propagating rift hypothesis. The islands were formed mostly during the late Pleistocene (the eruptions then being subglacial) and the Holocene. On four of them (Heimaey, Surtsey, Bjarnarey and Ellidaey) there has been effusion of lava.

The 1963-1967 eruption on Surtsey impressively manifested the style of island formation in the Vestmannaeyjar, with an initial hydromagmatic stage (when water was in contact with the magma within the uppermost part of the conduit) followed by Hawaiian-style magmatic activity (lava lake, lava fountaining) as soon as the crater was closed from access of sea water. Heimaey is the most complex of the islands. Its earliest eruptions occurred in its northernmost part where a cluster of tuff cones was built during subglacial activity (culminating in Heimaklettur, the island's highest spot at 283 m). Later postglacial activity occured at the Stórh&oumlfdi and Saefjall eruptive centers in the southern half of Heimaey. The most recent prehistoric activity occurred from Helgafell volcano in the central part of the island where a regularly cone-shaped cinder cone and a vast lava field were formed. That activity took place about 5400 BP.

The town of Vestmannaeyjar was built on the northern part of the Helgafell lava field, next to a small inlet between the north margin of the lava field and the vertical cliffs of Heimaklettur. The inlet, being protected by Heimaklettur from northerly winds, serves as a perfect natural harbor. 1973 eruption: a summary Go to detailed description index Until mid-January 1973, Heimaey was considered volcanically inactive both by volcanologists and its residents. Thus, the eruption came as a complete surprise. Premonitory seismicity was registered on seismographs in South Iceland, but at that time no seismic network existed, there was no way of precisely locating the epicenters of the tremors, and an eruption from Katla volcano would have been considered more likely at that time. A swarm of earthquakes began on the evening of 21 January 1973, with 200 events registered during a 14 hour period. Focal depths were below 20 km depth. A second seismic swarm began at 2200 on 22 January.

These events were much shallower and some of the tremors were felt on Heimaey. The strongest of these events had a magnitude of 3. The day before the eruption, on 22 January, a gale had raged in the Vestmannaeyjar region, and numerous ships had sought shelter in the harbor of Heimaey. During the night of 22-23 January, there were 70 ships present in the harbor, a coincidence that would soon yield invaluable help. During the evening of 22 January, the gale ceased, the all was tranquil by midnight. (15 kb JPG image) This is how the eruption on Heimaey looked like during its first few hours, on 23 January 1973, when the eruptive fissure was active along its full length. About 40 lava fountains shot up immediately behind the easternmost homes of Vestmannaeyjar, visible in the foreground. Photo is from H. R. Bárdarsson's gorgeous 1982 book entitled "Iceland, a protrait of the country and its people".

The eruption began a few minutes before 0155 on 23 January from a 1.6 km long, NNE-SSW striking fissure that opened on the NE side of the island, running from the N rim of the Saefjall explosion crater, across the E flank of Helgafell, to the NE tip of the Helgafell lava field. The fissure was located only about 200 m from the E margin of the town, an uncomfortably close distance, but fortunately it lay on a terrain gently sloping away from the town. About 40 lava fountains shot up into the sky, and soon after the beginning of the eruption, lava began to flow out, away from the town thanks to the favorable morphological situation. A light wind sprang up, blowing from the W which is quite unusual at that time of the year, but it carried the incandescent pyroclastics ejected from the fissure away from the town. Thus, a coincidence of several factors helped that the eruption did not immediately assume disastrous proportions. The residents of the town left their homes quietly and went to the harbor where they were taken aboard the large fleet of ships available for evacuation.

There have been few instances where a volcanic emergency situation was handled so smoothly, but much of this was due a number of factors which, had they varied just a little bit, might have resulted in a tragedy. The fissure could as well have opened right across the town. It could at least have done so on the side of the minor crest towards the city thus letting the lava flow right into town. There could have been a wind from the predominating direction, carrying glowing tephra towards the houses. Conditions changed soon after the successful completion of the evaciation. (23 kb JPG image) During the first days of the eruption, incandescent tephra frequently fell onto the E part of the town, closest to the active vents. One after another, the houses in that area were hit by large bombs and incinerated. The photo was scanned from "Volcano, Ordeal by fire in Iceland's Westmann Islands", published in 1973 by Iceland Review, Reykjavik. After the first day, the eruptive activity concentrated at a section of the fissure where the fountains became more vigorous and a new volcanic edifice began to grow.

This active section of the fissure was right where it lay closest to the nearest houses. With the wind soon returning to its prevailing seasonal directions, glowing spatter were carried over the town, and numerous houses immediately caught fire. One month after the onset of the eruption, more than 100 homes were thus destroyed. (18 kb JPG image) At the end of January 1973, only a few vents remain active along the eruption fissure. They began to build up an elongate ridge of pyroclastics that informally was named "Kirkjufell" (Church Mountain) by the residents. Later, the Icelandic commission for geographic names decided to call the new volcanic feature "Eldfell", Fire Mountain. The photo shows the main fountain to the right and a dense ash column rising from a smaller vent to the left of it. The remains of a burned house are visible in the foreground. The photo was scanned from "Volcano, Ordeal by fire in Iceland's Westmann Islands", published in 1973 by Iceland Review, Reykjavik. The new volcano continued to grow vigorously during the first half of February, reaching more than 220 m on the 15th.

Due to the prevailing winds, growth was most vigorous on the side of the crater wall facing the town, and much of the finer-grained pyroclastics gradually buried large portions of the town. Houses that were not burned by the impact of incandescent bombs collapsed under the weight of tephra which in the easternmost part of the town exceeded 2 m in thickness. The photo below shows the cone at its maximum height. (18 kb JPG image) Eldfell cone when it was highest, surpassing 220 m in mid-February. Homes in the foreground are partially buried under tephra but have been repeatedly dug out by volunteers. Photo is from H. R. Bárdarsson (1982) "Iceland, a protrait of the country and its people". On 19 February, the W rim of the crater immediately above the town that had grown unstably steep in the previous weeks collapsed. This collapse was probably triggered by the pressure exerted on the crater wall by a lava lake rising within the crater. The collapsed portion of the crater wall slid a few hundred m across the eastern part of the town, burying numerous houses.

At around the same time, volcanic gases (CO2 and CO) at toxic levels were discovered in the urban area. One month after the beginning of the eruption, the hope of a salvation of the town began to fade. Meanwhile, lava continuously moved towards the harbor entrance, threatening to close it. The flow destroyed the electricity cable and one of the two freshwater supply tubes connecting Heimaey with the "mainland". Nonetheless, from the beginning of the eruption, efforts were made to reduce as much as possible the destructive effects of the eruption. A crew of about 250 volunteers remained on the island, trying to salvage as much as possible. They removed the tephra fallen on the buildings and carried households from homes that were doomed before they were crushed by lava. All windows facing the volcano were covered with corrugated iron in early February to prevent glowing bombs from crashing into the houses through the windows. Protective barriers were built up along the W margin of the lava field, in order to prevent its westward spread. The lava field on the E side of the fissure had soon built up such that all new lava was channellized towards the harbor and closer and closer to the town.

In mid-March, a broad lava tongue swept over the protection barriers and right into the center of the town. In the course of a few days, hundreds of houses and several large fish factories were crushed and buried. Efforts to halt the lava by spraying water onto its front failed due to the high mobility of this flow. Following the late March surge of lava effusion into the town, cooling of the lava by spraying sea water onto it was performed at ever increasing scale. A vast pumping and plumbing system was installed, carrying sea water closer and closer to the source of the lava. That way it was hoped to stop the lava from moving towards the harbor and filling more and more of its entrance. In mid-April, the major concern was the presence of toxic CO gas in the town which claimed the only fatality related to this eruption. The eruptive activity itself showed a gradual decline, and by late May a positive feeling was prevailing among the displaced residents. Some of the fish factories that had escaped destruction from the March lava flow resumed production. The eruption ended on 25 June (but was officially declared over only on 4 July) 1973, after about 5 months.

By that time, more than 400 buildings had been buried and collapsed under the weight of tephra, burned by bombs or crushed by lava. Rehabilitation of the town was immediately resumed, and by late 1973, more than 2000 of the island's originally 5300 residents were again living on Heimaey. The eruption was not a particularly large eruptive event for Iceland standards. The total volume of erupted material was about 250 million cubic meters, most of which was lava. The Surtsey eruption had delivered four times as much magma. The new volcanic cone, Eldfell, a horseshoe-shaped tephra wall open towards the N, was 215 m high. The island had been significantly enlarged towards the NE by lava flows. The total subaerial area newly created was about 2.2 km^2.

Various aspects of Heimaey and the 1973 eruption A brief story of Heimaey before 1973 Some folklore about "those who knew it before" Eyewitness accounts of the first moments of the eruption The first few days (23-31 January) Social and economic impact of the eruption Early salvation work Development of the Eldfell cone Development of the lava field Chilling the lava Murder is Everywhere: The Westmann Island Eruption of 1973 The Westmann Island Eruption of 1973 Imagine that you are a sixteen year old boy and that your girlfriends parent‘s are very strict. They will not allow the two of you any alone time so you set up a clandestine meeting after her parents have fallen asleep, sneaking into her room which is on the second floor of her house. So far all is good. Now imagine having your bliss interrupted by her father, yelling at the top of his lungs that everyone has to get out as there is a catastrophe – a volcanic eruption has begun in the neighbourhood. Not so good at all, choice between death by girlfriend’s father or by volcano.

When the eruption in Heimaey began at 2 am one night in January 1973, most of the island’s 5300 inhabitants were fast asleep. Like in any community some, like unlucky lover boy, had yet to close their eyes and this group experienced a different sort of rude awakening than those who rose from slumber. Not many realised immediately what was going on and the individual stories vary from people believing it to be some sort of fire to thinking the Cold War had reached their island via an atom bomb. Keep in mind that at the time nuclear warfare was all the buzz and that there had not been an eruption on the island since 3000 BC (sort of makes you wonder about real estate prices in Napoli). The Westman Islands are an archipelago consisting of about 15 small islands located off Iceland’s south coast. All were formed by submarine volcanic eruptions, originating from a 30-km long fissure in the seabed. The largest of these islands is Heimaey and it is also the only one which is inhabited.

Today the population is just below 4500 people meaning that it is still about 1000 persons shy of the population when evacuated in 1973. Some things remain unchanged however, fishing and hunting (I am not going to tell you what they hunt for fear of offending readers) remain the backbone of Heimaey’s economy. It is a wonderful place, beautiful from every angle and the society very laid back and unpretentious. The people living there do not need a heart or leaf shaped design floating on top of their coffee to enjoy it. When Eldfell emerged from a level farmer’s field, basically in the farm’s backyard and a mere 300 metres from the edge of the town itself, everyone was caught unaware. Earthquakes had been experienced for a couple of days but these were not powerful and the largest only registered at 2,7 on the Richter Scale. Some confusion as to where the epicentres were located did not help as a faulty earthquake meter (one of three needed to pinpoint such a location) provided two options and the other seemed more likely as chances have it, this location was that of a new power plant whose reservoir had recently been impounded.

However there had been one huge sign almost impossible to overlook, namely the birth of Surtsey ten years previously – an island formed by the largest underwater eruption in historical times just off the coast of Heimaey (20 km). This eruption lasted four years and by the time it was over Surtsey rose 170 meters above sea level. The accompanying photo shows the island at the tender age of 16 days - clearly a neighbourhood where anything can occur. The Heimay eruption immediately required that the population be evacuated from the island as the town was in such close proximity. Luckily for everyone, a bad weather forecast meant that the fishing fleet of 70 ships and trawlers were all in harbour and could be used to take the 5000 persons that evacuated to safety, although not comfortably by any standard. The remaining population, all men in their prime, stayed behind, living offshore on these same boats when not in town attempting to salvage what could be saved. At the time keeping a dog was illegal (Iceland has had its fair share of ridiculous bans) so shepherding them to safety did not pose a problem, while the numerous cats people kept as pets had in most part to be left behind.

These were seen milling around by rescue workers while they attempted to save buildings and residences which were in danger of either catching fire from the rain of embers or collapsing under the mounds of ash piling on top of them. One by one these animals died, overcome by toxic fumes present in basements and around the cooling lava. Sheep had been transported off the island by planes the first night (women and children on fishing boats, sheep on business class - go figure) while cattle was brought down to the harbour and slaughtered. I do not know how this came to be but find it really sad somehow and the photo of the cows making their final steps with the blaze in the background says it all. Some horses grazing or resting in the fields close to where the eruption began became crazed and ran into the fire-spewing fissure. Animals are usually very hard hit when natural disasters occurr. The volcano initially spouted out lava at the rate of 100 cubic meters per second (3500 cubic ft/s) and permanently removed 30% of all the island’s houses from the face of the earth, submerging them underneath molten rock.

Of the 1350 residences/homes on the island before the eruption 417 disappeared beneath lava and deep ash layers and a similar number sustained awful damage. The lava flow also threatened to devastate the island’s only hope for re-inhabitation – the harbour. However, in a massive effort that I do not have space to give justice, locals and rescue team members from the mainland managed to divert the lava flow by spraying cold seawater onto it and causing it to cool and harden, thus forcing it to change its course when it was just 100 meters shy of closing the harbour entrance. The lava-tongue that remained actually ended up providing the perfect breaker, making the harbour just perfect. At the end of the eruption in early July 1973 Heimaey had enlarged in area by 20%, having been spewed with 200 million tons, or 240 million cubic meters, of lava and ash. It had also acquired a new volcano, Eldfell, 225 meters high. In addition the community, aided by engineers and scientists, received a district heating system and power plant fuelled by the heat contained within the new lava field.

It is an amazing fact that the insides of thick lava flows retain temperatures of many hundred degrees for years and years as rock has very low thermal conductivity. This hidden energy was harnessed by percolating water into the lava field, collecting the steam that rose in its place, providing hot water to heat the town’s homes. It obviously helped that the lava field is basically at the edge of town, on top of the part that used to be. You can still see the occasional house sticking out of the jagged edges, an eerie reminder of the homes and belongings contained within the rock. Only one man died during the eruption, poisoned by fumes while attempting to find something to take his mind off things in the abandoned local drugstore. While researching for by book Ashes to Dust which takes place in Heimaey and relates to the eruption I spoke to a lot of locals who had experienced these events first hand. Many mentioned how lucky it was that no one died. Finding this strange as one man did lose his life I made a point of drawing attention to this discrepancy and always received the same reply: Oh him. He doesn’t count – he was an alcoholic. So there you have it, alcoholics should be removed from any reasonable death toll numbers.

So in case you were wondering I had better tell you how the adventures of teenage lover boy from the beginning of this post ended. His girlfriend left him stranded as she had to go down and join her family so he was left to his own devices regarding what to do. After several agonising minutes imagining being left behind to deal with the volcano on his own, he decided to face the father instead. Knowing that his decent down the stairs would be awkward at least he grabbed a book by our Nobel laureate, Halldór Laxness, from a nearby bookshelf, in the hope he would look intellectual and carried it (cover facing father) to meet his destiny. The book did no magic and a second, human eruption occurred but given the circumstances it did not last long and the simmering father let the boy join the family down to the harbour. Today these two former teenagers are a happily married couple. Oh, by the way, we have yet another eruption which started last night. This one is completely different from the mild and pretty tourist eruption that has just ended and was the subject of my post 2 weeks ago. The new eruption originates from underneath a glacier and involves humongous ash plumes and extreme flooding.

We actually only had one day between the two which is unusual, even for Iceland. About 800 people have been evacuated from their homes, the major east bound highway lying across the south coast has been cut in two and bridges and other structures in the area are threatened. Even all flights in northern Norway have been cancelled due to an approaching cloud of ash which also threathens to put a halt to all air traffic in western Europe tomorrow morning. Let's hope not though, Iceland has caused enough havoc there already. On the bright side Katla has yet to blow. Yrsa - Wednesday South Iceland X South Iceland The South coast of Iceland holds some of the most beautiful natural attractions in Iceland. The area boasts a unique mix of volcanoes and glaciers, geysers, hot springs and waterfalls, along with multiple historic sites like the UNESCO site of Thingvellir. You’re headed into the ‘volcano zone!’ South Iceland is a masterpiece of volcanic activity and home to some of the island’s most celebrated natural wonders along the ‘Golden Circle’ route which is a real must for sightseers.

Its centerpiece is Thingvellir (UNESCO), where settlers established an assembly in AD 930 which has evolved into the world’s oldest parliament today. Thingvellir is also a masterpiece of nature, with a scenic lake and rifts which mark where the continental plates of America and Eurasia meet. Other Golden Circle highlights include Gullfoss, the ‘Golden Falls’, a mighty two-tier waterfall on the Hvita River, and the geothermal fields of Geysir, where the spouting spring Strokkur erupts every ten minutes. The forces of nature in South Iceland have shaped not only the land but man’s life too. Off the south coast, the Westman Islands were evacuated in 1973 because of volcanic activity – but the inhabitants soon went back. The area is also the location of Iceland’s newest star Eyjafjallajokull, the unpronounceable volcano that made itself known to the world in April 2010. History is everywhere in South Iceland, too, spanning the whole range from the Saga Age farm at Stong to the old bishop’s seat of Skalholt and the regional folk museum at Skogar.

The southeast offers Europe’s largest glacier at Vatnajokull National Park where you can also experience the awe-inspiring Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon, renowned for its boat cruises among dancing icebergs. Few places in Iceland can match the wealth of contrasts found at Skaftafell National Park, where green woodlands and black mountains converge with the sheer white glacier in the shadow of the country’s highest peak, Hvannadalshnjukur. Towns & Villages from 9am to 5pm | Mon-Fri Our Tours BBC News - A guide to Iceland's volcanoes Printable version A guide to Iceland's volcanoes Iceland is a volcanic hot spot on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge - the dividing line between the Eurasian and North American continental plates. The country's three major volcanoes - Hekla, Katla and Grimsvotn - lie along this boundary. Altogether there are 35 active volcanoes on and around the island.

EYJAFJALLAJOKULL Eyjafjallajokull means "island mountain glacier" Eyja means "islands" Fjall means "mountain" Jokull means "glacier" It's the mountain with the glacier seen from, or around, the Westman islands, off Iceland's south-western coast Offshore volcanic activity has resulted in the formation of separate volcanic islands, one of which, Surtsey, appeared as recently as 1963. Icelandic volcanoes have long drawn tourists from across the globe, eager to catch a glimpse of a pillar of smoke or a spectacular lava flow. But there have also been cataclysmic events. Eruptions at the eastern volcanoes of Grimsvotn and Laki from 1783 to 1785 produced a lava flow which consumed vast swathes of land, blotted out the sun and killed a quarter of the population through poisoning or famine.

Angry sisters Eyjafjallajokull, which is currently filling the sky above northern Europe with ash, is a minor player in Icelandic terms - though its last eruption lasted for more than a year, from December 1821 to January 1823. The most ominous thing about Eyjafjallajokull is that its eruptions have historically preceded eruptions by one of Iceland's most feared volcanoes, Katla. Fortunately, Katla, one of the two so-called Angry Sisters, has shown no sign of unusual activity in 2010.

SELECTED BIG ERUPTIONS 1947-48: Hekla - 11-month eruption, major lava flow, 24,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted 1973: Eldfell - seven-month eruption on island of Heimaey 1996: Grimsvotn erupts, causing a glacial burst (where a build-up of water under the ice of a glacier is suddenly released) 2004: Grimsvotn - eruption sends ash up to 12km into the air, some of it landing in Norway, Sweden and Finland Katla is located under the vast Myrdalsjokull glacier. One of the highest volcanoes in Europe at 1,512m (4,961 ft), its crater has a diameter of 10km. Any eruption would raise fears of major flooding due to the melting of the glacier. Its last major eruption occurred in 1918, with a smaller eruption in the 1950s. Historically, it tends to erupt every 40-80 years.

The second of the Angry Sisters is 1,490m Mount Hekla, Iceland's most active volcano. In the Middle Ages it was believed to be one of the gateways to hell, or Judas's prison. An eruption in 2000 spewed columns of ash several kilometres into the sky, and caused a lava flow 7km long. In 1973, there was an eruption near the nation's premier fishing port, Vestmannaeyjar, on the southern island of Heimaey. A mile-long fissure rapidly opened, bisecting the island. Spectacular lava fountains followed. The lava flow continued for five months and around 400 homes close to the rift were destroyed by ash-fall, or consumed by lava flow. But within hours of the eruption, nearly all of Heimaey's 5,300 residents were evacuated to the mainland by the island's fishing fleet. ICELAND OFF-ROAD ICELAND OFF-ROAD Story & Photos by Vicki Hoefling Andersen High on Adventure, November 2014 Despite the beauty of Fljotshlid’s serene location, there’s a hint of sulfur in the crisp morning air.

Horses graze in the shadow of Eyjafjallajokull, world-famous for its 2010 eruption which shut down European airports for over a week. I scan a landscape which was inundated by flood when the eruption melted its massive glaciers. Fortunately I can dismiss E15 (as it is often referred to) as the culprit because less than a hundred miles away is the newly active Bardarbunga, a rift eruption which opened shortly before my visit and was currently belching 24,000 tons of sulfur into the air each day. Icelandic horses graze below the glaciers of Eyjafjallajokull. To keep the breed pure, Icelandic law prohibits the importation of other horses and if a horse leaves the country, it is not allowed to return. The largest volcanic island in the world, Iceland covers 40,000 square miles, about the size of the state of Kentucky and a bit larger than Portugal. Sixteen billion years ago it was an ancient sea bed, but now sits atop the Mid-Atlantic ridge just south of the Arctic Circle, and boasts some 35 active volcanoes and 269 named glaciers.

This combination of geological activity covers 4,500 square miles in barren lava and envelopes another 5,000 with glaciers. Its population of 325,000 is concentrated along the coastline, with two-thirds of Icelanders residing in the capital city of Reykjavik. This leaves 80% of the island uninhabited, resulting in room for a lot of outdoor and backcountry adventure possibilities and a nice variety of outfitters and guides around the country. Arcanum Adventure Tours is a great way to explore Myrdalsjokull glacier, although late summer might find the slopes dusted with volcanic ash from Katla. (photos above left and middle courtesy of Arcanum Adventure Tours) Year-round sledding is enjoyed thanks to Iceland’s many glaciers. Katla, one of the country’s largest volcanoes, was considered the gateway to Hell in ancient times, but is now home to the country’s fourth largest glacier – Myrdalsjokull. It has been nearly a hundred years since Katla erupted, but she still rattles the ground and spews ash.

David Rockland models his ATV Adventures Iceland gear (above left), perfect for whatever weather or conditions he encounters while exploring the Reykjanes Peninsula. Behind the Blue Lagoon (above right) is the hill (largest hump in the distance) on which David is standing. In the picture of David, the steam plume behind him is the one that originates from the power plant behind the Blue Lagoon. (photos courtesy of “the dashingly handsome ATV-riding expert” David Rockland) ATV Adventures Iceland, based out of Grindavík harbor on the southwestern coast about 45 minutes south of Reykjavik, offers a variety of tours that can include snorkeling or jet boating, caving or indulging in the mineral-rich thermal waters of the Blue Lagoon. Iceland’s varied terrain and scenery provides opportunities to explore volcanic landscapes and rugged Atlantic Ocean shorelines. Follow trails and climb hills to open the vista of a country rich in natural wonders and history. Although a somewhat soggy day at Landeyjahofn, the GPS assured us that the Westman Islands were right there in front of us. A shipwreck from Heimaey’s fishing fleet stands lookout over the volcanic archipelago.

Situated off the southwest coast of Iceland are the Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar in Icelandic). In 1963 a volcanic explosion gave birth to the newest addition, Surtsey, named for Surtur the fire god of Icelandic mythology. Ten years later, an eruption on Heimaey buried 360 homes in the archipelago’s only town under a deep layer of volcanic ash. Fortunately the fishing fleet was in harbor and evacuated all the inhabitants. On a clear day the Westman Islands can easily be seen just nine miles from the black sand beach Landeyjahofn. At least that’s what the GPS told us. Following the Seljalandsa river a few miles inland from the coast, you’ll encounter Seljalandsfoss plunging 200 feet over an old sea cliff (above left). Less than 20 miles to the east, Skogafoss dives over the same ancient coastline in a 82-foot wide, 197-foot tall torrent. Magnificent as it is, Seljalandsfoss is just a hint of the topography a few miles ahead, in Thorsmork National Park.

An early Viking settler named this area Thorsmork, dedicating the region to Thor, the Norse god of thunder. A trio of intertwined valleys are guarded on three sides by active glacier-draped volcanoes, dotted with backcountry huts, and laced with popular hiking trails including one of Iceland’s most famous, Fimmvorduhals. You’ll also find many, many rivers to cross. Thanks to Nature’s fiery fury and glaciers in every direction, no matter the time of year there are watery channels to be faced.

Question: Off the coast of which country do the volcanic Westmann Islands lie?
Answer: Iceland