Large expanses of flow became encrusted with extensive white deposits, and it was estimated that up to 220,000 tonnes of salt was deposited in total. Most of the population left the island by boat. I hope to use this to supplement the 1974 film and to produce a teaching CD-ROM illustrating the eruption. The small town of Heimaey (hey-my) is encased in a fortress of jagged lava; its port sits at the end of a contorted waterway that carves a path between towering cliffs dotted with bird nests.Although only a few kilometres from the mainland, Heimaey feels light years away, … As Heimaey was responsible for some 25% of Iceland's total annual catch, the effect on the whole country's economy would be significant. The ground on Heimaey started to quake and fissures formed. The island of Heimay’s fishing port was at risk of being demolished from the eruption. By the end of March, a fifth of the town had been covered by lava flows, and increased pumping capacity was required. With the harbour improved by the new lava breakwater, the fishing industry regained its former vigour and the island today remains the most important fishing centre in the nation. Mount Eldfell, 200 meters high, formed a volcanic eruption on the 23rd January 1973, just outside the town of Heimaey. Iceland is a region of frequent volcanic activity, due to its location astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian Plates are moving apart, and also over the Iceland hotspot, which greatly enhances the volcanic activity. Spectacular lava fountaining occurred along the whole fissure, which reached a maximum length of about 3 km (2 miles) during the first few hours of the eruption, but activity soon became concentrated on one vent, about 0.8 km (0.5 miles) north of the old volcanic cone of Helgafell and just outside the eastern edge of the town. By early February, the heavy tephra fall had abated, but lava flows began to cause serious damage. Following the end of the eruption, scientists began to assess the feasibility of extracting geothermal heat from the gradually cooling flows. by. There was great concern that the lava flow would impede access to the harbor, which was vital to this fishing community. Its name means Fire Mountain, and it formed in a volcanic eruption which began without warning just outside the town of Heimaey on 23 January 1973. Eldfell: Eldfell is a very small volcano, only around 650 feet high, on the Icelandic island of Heimaey. Experimental heating systems were soon devised, and by 1974 the first house was connected. There was some underwater volcanic activity during the ongoing eruptions, which caused the water pipeline to Heimaey to break. Eruption of the newly-formed Eldfell Volcano on the island of Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) south of Iceland, 150 meters from the town of Vestmannaeyjar. The lava which came from the volcanoes on the plate borders formed the island. The first boats left for Þorlákshöfn at about 02:30, just half an hour after the start of the eruption. Yet, while eruptions are spectacular to watch, they can cause disastrous loss of life and property, especially in densely populated regions of the world. Nearly all of the island’s 5,300 residents were evacuated by fishing boats to the mainland, and they temporarily could not return. The Heimaey Eruption: Iceland 1973 documented the battle to save the town from the volcano, Eldfell. Houses close to the rift were soon destroyed by lava flows and tephra fall. The flows were thick and blocky aa flows, and covered the ground to average depths of about 40 m (130 ft), reaching 100 m (330 ft) thick in places. Once the fireworks finished, heat from the volcano provided Heimaey with geothermal energy from 1976 to 1985. The chunk, dubbed Flakkarinn (The Wanderer), would have seriously threatened the viability of the harbour if it had reached it, and the dredging boat Sandey was brought in on 1 March to prevent its advance. Since then, its height has dropped by 18-20 m (60-65 ft), due to slumping and compacting of the unconsolidated gravelly tephra as well as wind erosion. As usual for a fissure eruption the crater row developed into a single active crater in the middle of the rift. On the night in question, Eldfell, a new volcanic cone, was formed. A few people remained to carry out essential functions and to salvage belongings from threatened houses. Up to 40 megawatts of power could be generated by the plants, which also then supplied hot water to nearly every house on the island. There is no protection from the sun. This would mean a significant decrease in Iceland’s importing income. The trail is … The eruption had made headlines around the world when it began, and was covered constantly by Icelandic news crews throughout. Lava flows had been sprayed with water in attempts to slow them in Hawaii and on Mount Etna, but these had been rather small-scale operations with limited success. Lava flows also moved into the sea east of the island, creating new land that would eventually add over 2 km² (0.8 square miles) to the island, and into the eastern parts of town, destroying several hundred houses. Vestmannaeyjar: Eldfell volcano (in background) is erupting and fountaining lava. Many houses were destroyed by the weight of the ash fall, but crews of volunteers working to clear the ash from roofs and board up windows saved many more. The area of the lava flow is 2.1 km 2, and the average thickness is about 70 m. Eldfell is a volcano in the Westman Islands, off the South Coast of Iceland, which famously erupted in the middle of the town of Heimaey in 1973. These settlers gave the islands their name, Ireland being west of mainland Scandinavia. Eldfell Volcano, Heimaey, Westmann Isles, Iceland, 1973 Bárðarbunga was one of the most recent eruptions to occur in the country - it erupted over a … Flakkarinn rafted several hundred metres towards the harbour along the top of the lava flow, but came to a halt well away from the water's edge. The tremors continued at a reduced rate until 11:00 on 22 January, after which they stopped until 23:00 that evening. Be the first to submit your climbing note! Please submit any useful information about climbing Eldfell that may be useful to other climbers. The abundant tephra produced by the eruption was used to extend the runways at the island's small airport, and also as landfill on which 200 new homes were built. This pre-planned evacuation route resulted in no lives being lost from the eruption; even though the natural disaster came without warning, the community was still prepared. Although several men sustained minor burns, no serious injuries were received. Categories: Volcanoes of Iceland | Cinder cones, Lava fountains tower over Heimaey in the early stages of the Eldfell eruption, Thick blocky lava flows advance into town, Steam rises copiously where seawater is being used to cool the flows, Sketch showing the changes to Heimaey caused by the eruption of Eldfell, The street shown above, cleared of lava after the eruption, Helgafell (l) and Eldfell (r) today. These defences were only partially effective, as they relied on the assumption that the gases were produced at the vent, and flowed into the town from there. Poisonous gases, mostly carbon dioxide, became concentrated in many buildings partially buried by tephra, and several other people were affected when entering these buildings. About 2.5 km² (0.96 square miles) of new land was added to the island, increasing its pre-eruption area by some 20%. Up to three acres of lava flow could be cooled at one time, with internal barriers then being created within the flow, which thickened and piled up upon itself. Explore {{searchView.params.phrase}} by color family {{familyColorButtonText(colorFamily.name)}} Volcano eruption on Heimaey Island in Iceland on 23 January 1973. The insides of lava flows can remain at temperatures of several hundred °C for many years due to the very low thermal conductivity of rock. It is a stratovolcano. Later the new mountain was named Eldfell, which means “Fire Mountain” in English. After three months of continuous activity, S. Thorarinsson reported on 21 April that the Heimaey eruption is slowly abating. The pipelayers used bulldozers and walkie-talkies to advance through the steam to lay more pipes. The name initially given to the new volcano was Kirkjufell (Church Mountain), perhaps to echo the nearby Helgafell (Holy Mountain), but the cone was eventually named Eldfell (Fire Mountain) by the official Icelandic place naming committee. The country lies on two tectonic plates along which the volcanoes are located: the Eurasian and North American plates. The population was alerted to the situation by fire engines sounding their sirens, and gathered by the harbour with just the small amount of possessions they were able to carry. 2. The fissure rapidly extended to a length of 2 km (1.25 miles), crossing the island from one shore to the other. In Europe, the eruption was one of the biggest news items while it continued, competing for front page space with breakthroughs then being made in the Vietnam War peace talks in Paris. The attention focussed on the island as a result of the eruption led to a later upsurge in tourism once the eruption was over [1] (http://www.xtreme.is/net/skraarsafn/vestmannaeyjar_is//1097082947.pdf). See nearby properties Eldfell & Helgafell If seeing the sights is on your list of things to do, head to Eldfell & Helgafell— just one of the landmarks located 1.2 mi (1.9 km) from central Ofanleiti. Shortly before the end of the eruption, a tiltmeter 1.15 km from the crater which had been measuring ground deformation throughout the eruption detected subsidence towards the crater, implying that the shallow magma chamber which had fed the eruption was emptying out. Eldfell is a cinder cone volcano just over 200 m high on the Icelandic island of Heimaey. The fissures grew to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) in length, and lava began to erupt. Consider things such as access and accommodation at the base of Eldfell, as well as the logistics of climbing to the summit. During the early days of the eruption, the rate of lava and tephra emission from the fissure was estimated to be 100 m³/s, and within two days, the lava fountains had built a cinder cone over 100 m high. Not too much, so you don't need to be top fit to get there. When the Eldfell volcano exploded on Heimaey in 1973, people had to flee in an instant. One contingency plan devised should the harbour be closed off was to cut through a low sand spit on the north side of the island to provide a new channel into the harbour, but it was hoped that if the lava flow could be slowed, this would not be necessary. The 221m-high volcanic cone Eldfell appeared from nowhere in the early hours of 23 January 1973. After these pumps began to cool the flow advancing towards the town, its movement slowed dramatically and soon stopped. They also used some of the extensive tephra (airborne volcanic material) fall to extend the runway at the island's small airport, and as landfill on which 200 new houses were built. The volume of lava being emitted during the eruption fell steadily after the first few days. Professor Sigurgeirsson provided advice to the pumping crews on where to direct their efforts to most efficiently slow the flows. In January of 1973, an eruption began along a 1.5 mile (2 km) long fissure not far from the center of the town of Vestmannaeyjar. The threat of lava flows cutting off the harbour was the most significant facing the town. Submarine activity also occurred just offshore at the northern and southern ends of the fissure. At 1.55am on the 23 january a fissure 1800m long opened up from one shore to the other. This page was last modified 00:27, 6 May 2005. Eruptions are a big part of Westman Islands history and on the islands there are 2 Volcanoes. However, offshore eruptions may have taken place in 1637 and 1896. The most prominent feature on Heimaey before 1973 was Helgafell, a 200 m (650 ft) high volcanic cone formed in an eruption about 5,000 years ago. Lava sprayed into the air from the fissures. The recovery and reconstruction of Heimaey was paid for by all Icelanders via a hypothecated sales tax, as well as through international aid totalling USD2.1 million, primarily from Denmark but with substantial contributions from the USA and several international organisations. Apart fr… Despite the eruption's close proximity to the town and the extensive property damage, only one fatality could be attributed to the eruption - a man who had broken into a chemist's store to acquire drugs was suffocated by toxic fumes. Other Things to Do Near Eldfell Volcano After finishing up with Eldfell Volcano, visitors often check out some of the area's other interesting attractions: Start your day with a walk up Eldfell & Helgafell. The Hotel Vestmannaeyjar and Aska Hostel are located within 2 miles (3 kilometers) of Eldfell Volcano. Submarine activity just north of the fissure severed an electric power cable and a water pipeline which supplied electrical power and water from the Icelandic mainland, and lava began to flow into the harbour, as situation which caused serious concerns - if the harbour was destroyed, the island's fishing industry would be devastated. Head to Eldfell Volcano, located nearby. The eruption caused a major crisis for the island and led to its immediate evacuation. It is a wonder how the island risked permanent evacuation from the eruption, yet was prevented manually form destroying major ports, which Iceland greatly rely on for their economy. We did the hike before we visited the museum and it might've been helpful to do it the other way around. In the early hours of the eruption, the Icelandic State Civil Defence Organisation evacuated the entire population of Heimaey, having previously developed evacuation plans for an emergency such as this. Eldfell ("fire mountain" in Icelandic) is a volcano on the island of Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago 15 miles (25 km) south of Iceland. Eldfell is a cinder cone 200m high on the island of Heimay in the Vestmann islands off the south west cost of Iceland. Since the settlement, no eruptions had been known to occur on the islands until 1963, when a new member of the archipelago, Surtsey, was formed by a four year eruption which began offshore about 20 km (12.5 miles) south-west of Heimaey. By the end of the eruption, Eldfell stood about 220 m (720 ft) above sea level. This unique and famous sight in Iceland was formed by volcanoes, looking like a giant elephant rising out from the sea. 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