Eldfell
Elevation:
200 m
Coordinates:
63°25′57″N 20°14′51″W
Heimaey
is
an
Icelandic
island.
At
13.4
square
kilometres
,
it
is
the
largest
island
in
the
Vestmannaeyjar
archipelago,
and
the
largest
and
most
populated
island
off
the
Icelandic
coast.
Heimaey
is
7.4
km
off
the
south
coast
of
Iceland.
It
is
the
only
populated
island
of
the
Vestmannaeyjar
islands,
with
a
population
of
4,500.
The
airport
and
the
Westman
Island Golf Club cover a large part of the island.
At
01:00
on
23
January
1973,
a
volcanic
eruption
of
the
mountain
Eldfell
began
on
Heimaey.
The
ground
on
Heimaey
started
to
quake
and
fissures
formed.
The
fissures
grew
to
1,600
metres
in
length,
and
lava
began
to
erupt.
Lava
sprayed
into
the
air
from
the
fissure.
Volcanic
ash
was
blown
to
sea.
Later,
the
situation
deteriorated.
When
the
fissures
closed,
the
eruption
converted
to
a
concentrated
lava
flow
that
headed
toward
the
harbour.
The
winds
changed,
and
half
a
million
cubic
metres
of
ash
blew
on
the
town.
During
the
night,
the
5,000
inhabitants
of
the
island
were
evacuated,
mostly
by
fishing
boats, as almost the entire fishing fleet was in dock.
The
encroaching
lava
flow
threatened
to
destroy
the
harbour.
The
eruption
lasted
until
3
July.
Townspeople
constantly
sprayed
the
lava
with
cold
seawater,
causing
some
to
solidify
and
much
to
be
diverted,
thus
saving
the
harbour.
The
people
were
elated
that
their
livelihoods
remained
intact,
even
though
much
of
their
town
was
destroyed.
During
the
eruption,
half
of
the
town
was
crushed
and
the
island
expanded
in
length.
The
eruption
increased
the
area
of
Heimaey
from
11.2
to
13.44 km2 . Only one man died in the eruption. (Wikipedia)
Click on pictures to enlarge
Heimaey, July 2005