Active and dormant Icelandic volcanoes

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

For many people, the concept of "volcano" is associated with a high mountain, from the top of which a fountain of gas, ash and flame bursts into the sky, and the slopes are filled with red-hot lava. Irish volcanoes are not very similar to classical volcanoes. The vast majority of them are not impressive in height. Only a few “stepped over” the mark of 2 km, the rest stay within 1-1.5 km, and many even less. For example, Hverfjadl, Eldfell, Surtsey barely reach a height of several hundred meters, more like ordinary hills. But these seemingly peaceful and safe creations of mother nature in reality can bring trouble no less than the famous Etna or Vesuvius. We invite you to get to know them better, and let's start with their homeland.

Severe Island

Nature loves to surprise. For example, she created the island of Iceland by raising part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge above the ocean, and just in the place of a huge tectonic seam. Its lithospheric plates, one of which is the foundation of Eurasia, andthe second - North America, is still gradually diverging, thereby inducing Icelandic volcanoes to vigorous activity. Small and large eruptions occur here approximately every 4-6 years.

The climate of Iceland, given its proximity to the Arctic Circle, can be called mild. True, there is no warm summer here. But severe winters are also rare, but there is a lot of precipitation. It would seem that unusually favorable conditions for various kinds of vegetation, which should thrive here with fantastic strength. But in reality, 3/4 of the island's territory is a rocky plateau, in some places covered with mosses and rare herbs. In addition, out of 103,000 square km, about 12,000 are occupied by glaciers. This is the natural landscape that surrounds the Icelandic volcanoes and adorns their slopes. In addition to those visible to the eye, there are many volcanoes around the island, hidden by the thickness of the icy ocean waters. All together there are almost one and a half hundred of them, among which 26 are active.

Geological features

The vast majority of Icelandic volcanoes are shield-shaped. They are formed by liquid lava, which repeatedly poured out to the surface from the bowels of the Earth. Such mountain formations have the appearance of a convex shield with rather gentle slopes. Their peaks are crowned with craters, and more often so-called calderas, which are huge basins with a more or less even bottom and steep walls. The diameter of the caldera is measured in kilometers, and the height of the walls - hundreds of meters. Shield volcanoes tend to overlap due to the outpouring of themlava. As a result, an extensive volcanic shield is formed, which is observed on the island of Iceland. They are composed mainly of bas alt rocks, which spread like water in the molten state.

Besides shield volcanoes, there are stratovolcanoes in Iceland. These have the shape of a cone with steeper slopes, since the lava erupting from them is viscous, hardens quickly, before it has time to spill over many kilometers. A striking example of this type of formation is the famous Icelandic volcano Hekla or, for example, Askja.

By location, ground, underwater and under-ice mountain formations are distinguished, and by "life activity" - dormant and active. In addition, there are many small mud volcanoes that erupt not lava, but gases and mud.

Gate to Hell

So called the volcano in the south of Iceland, called Hekla. It is considered one of the most active, since eruptions occur here almost every 50 years. The last time this happened was at the end of February 2000. Hekla looks like a majestic white cone rushing into the sky. In form it is a stratovolcano, and by its nature it is part of a mountain range that stretches for 40 km. It is all restless, but it shows the highest activity in the area of the Geklugya fissure, 5500 m long, belonging to Gekla. From Icelandic, this word can be translated as "hood and cloak." The name of the volcano was due to the fact that its top is often covered with clouds. Now the slopes of Hekla are practically lifeless, but once trees and shrubs grew on them, grasses raged. Not so long ago, the country began work on the restoration of this volcanofauna, mainly willows and birches.

Iceland has suffered from seismic activity in this area more than once. Volcano Hekla (according to scientists) has been actively spitting lava onto the surface of the Earth for 6600 years. Studying volcanic layers, seismologists have found that the strongest eruption here happened in the interval from 950 to 1150 years. BC. According to the amount of ash thrown into the atmosphere then, he was given 5 points out of 7 possible. The power of the eruption was such that the air temperature in the entire Northern Hemisphere of the Earth dropped for several years. The oldest documented eruption on Hekla happened in 1104, and the longest - in 1947. It lasted over a year. In general, on Hekla all eruptions are unique, and all are different. There is only one pattern here - the longer this volcano sleeps, the more it rages later.

Askya

One of the most "touristic" and most picturesque is this volcano, located in the eastern part of the island, in the national park Vatnajökull, named after a huge glacier (the largest in Iceland and the third largest in this indicator in the world). Askya is located at its northern edge and is not covered with ice. It rises 1510 meters above the plateau and is famous for its lakes - the large Escuvati and the small Viti, which appeared in the caldera due to the Askja eruption in 1875. Esquivati, with a depth of about 220 meters, is considered the deepest lake in the country. Viti is much smaller - only up to 7 meters deep. It attracts hundredstourists with the unusual milky blue color of the water and the fact that its temperature can rise to +60 degrees Celsius and never drops below +20 degrees. Mirror Viti is almost perfectly round, and the banks are very high (from 50 m) and steep. The angle of their slopes exceeds 45 degrees. Translated from Icelandic, “Viti” means “hell”, which is facilitated by the smell of sulfur that is constantly present here. The last eruption of the Icelandic volcano Askja happened in 1961, and since then it has been dormant, although it is considered active. This does not frighten tourists at all, who visit Askya so actively that they even laid 2 tourist routes here, and a campsite was built 8 km from the caldera dish.

Baurdarbunga

The Icelandic volcano Baurdarbunga is often shortened to Bardarbunga. It arose on behalf of Baurdur. That was the name of one of the ancient settlers of the island, who apparently lived in these places, since in Icelandic “Baurdarbunga” means “Baurdur’s hill”. Now it is deserted and deserted, only hunters and tourists wander here, and even then only in summer. The volcano is a neighbor of Askja, but is located a little to the south, just under the edge of the Vatnajökull glacier. This is a relatively high (2009 meters) stratovolcano, periodically "pleasing" with its eruptions. One of the biggest scoring 6s happened in 1477.

The latest "trick" of the Icelandic volcano Bardarbunga pretty ruffled the nerves of the inhabitants of the island, especially airline workers. In 1910, there was an eruption here, but not very strong, after which the mountain calmed down. And now, after almost a hundred years, namely in 2007,seismologists again noticed its activity, which gradually increased. The maximum was expected any minute.

Eruption

In the early summer of 2014, instruments detected significant magma movements in the Bardarbunga chamber. On August 17, tremors with a force of 3.8 points occurred in the area of the volcano, and on the 18th their magnitude increased to 4.5 points. An urgent evacuation of residents of nearby villages and tourists was carried out, part of the roads were blocked, and a yellow code was announced for airlines. The eruption of the Icelandic volcano Bardarbunga began on the 23rd. The color of the code was immediately changed to red, and all flights over the area were banned. Although the 4.9-5.5 tremors continued, there was no particular danger to the airliners, and by evening the color of the code was changed to orange. On the 29th, magma appeared. It splashed out of the mouth of the volcano and spread in the direction of Askya, going beyond the glacier. The color of the code was again raised to red, h alting all flights over the volcano, making it much more difficult for airlines to operate. Since the magma spread quite peacefully, by the evening of the 29th, the color of the code was again reduced to orange. And on August 31 at 7 am, magma splashed out with renewed vigor from the fault that had arisen earlier. The width of its flow reached 1 km, and the length - 3 km. The code turned red again, and in the evening again fell to orange. In this spirit, the eruption lasted until the end of February 2015, after which the volcano began to fall asleep. After 16 days, tourists again poured in here.

Eyyafjadlayeküll

Only 0.005% of earthlings can pronounce this name of an Icelandic volcano correctly. Eyyafyadlayekyudl - something close to "true" in the Russian version. Although this volcano is located in the south of the island (125 km from Reykjavik), it was completely covered by a glacier, which was given the same complex name. The area of the glacier is more than 100 square km. At its top is the source of the Skogau River, and a little lower fall the waterfalls Skogafoss and Kvernyuvoss, which are attractive for tourists. A more or less significant eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull happened in 1821. And although it lasted almost 13 months, it did not cause trouble, except for the thawing of the glacier, since its intensity did not exceed 2 points. This volcano was considered so trustworthy that the village of Skougar was even founded on its southern tip. And suddenly, in March 2010, Eyyafyadlayeküll woke up again. A 500-meter fault appeared in its eastern part, from which clouds of ash soared into the air. It was all over by the beginning of May. This time the intensity of the eruption reached 4 points. Now the slopes of the volcano are covered not with ice, but with green vegetation. Many are interested in which Icelandic city is closest to the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Here it is worth mentioning the village of Skougar, which has as many as 25 inhabitants. The next is the village of Holt, then Hvolsvulur and the town of Selfoss, located about 50 km from the mountain.

Katla

This volcano is located just 20 km from Eyjafjallajökull and is more hectic. Its height is 1512 meters, and the frequency of eruptions isfrom 40 years old. Since Katla is partly covered by the Myrdalsjökull glacier, its activity is fraught with ice melting and floods, which happened in 1755, and in 1918, and in 2011. Moreover, the last time it was so large-scale that it demolished the bridge on the Mulakvisl River and destroyed the road. Scientists have absolutely precisely established that the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull every time is the impetus for the activity of Katla. In any case, this pattern has been observed since 920.

Syurtsey

Active volcanoes in Iceland are extremely beneficial for Icelanders. They help to enrich the country, and the geysers located in their range are used to heat houses, greenhouses, and swimming pools. But that's not all. Volcanoes in Iceland increase the country's territory! The last time this happened was in November 1963. Then, after the eruption of underwater volcanoes, a new land area appeared near the southwestern coast of the island, called Surtsey. It has become a unique reserve where scientists track the emergence of life. Formerly completely lifeless at first, Surtsey now boasts not only mosses and lichens, but even flowers and shrubs in which birds have begun to nest. Now gulls, swans, auks, petrels, puffins and others are observed here. The height of Surtsey is 154 meters, the area is 1.5 square meters. km, and it still continues to grow. It is part of the chain of underwater volcanoes Vestmannaeyjar.

Esya

This extinct volcano is famous for the fact that at its foot is the capital of the state - Reykjavik. When did it happenthe eruption of the Icelandic volcano Esja for the last time, it's hard to say, but nobody cares. The volcano, whose peak is visible from almost anywhere in the city, is loved by all its inhabitants and extremely popular with tourists, climbers and all connoisseurs of the harsh beauty of nature. The mountain range, of which Esja is a part, starts at the fjord above the capital and stretches to the Thingvellir National Park. The height of the volcano is about 900 meters, and its slopes, overgrown with shrubs and flowers, are unusually picturesque.

Lucky

This shield volcano is a highlight of the Skaftafell National Park. It is located near the city with the simple name of Kirkjubeyarklaustur. Laki is part of the 25 km long Icelandic volcano chain, consisting of 115 craters. The volcanoes Katla and Grimsvotn are also links in this chain. The height of their craters is mostly small, about 800-900 meters. Laki Crater is located somewhere in the middle between the glaciers - the huge Vatnajokull and the relatively small Mirdalsjokull. It is considered active, but has not caused problems for more than 200 years.

Grimswotn

This volcano is the top of the chain that Lucky is a member of. Nobody knows its exact height. Some believe that it is only 970 meters, others call the figure 1725 meters. The size of the crater is also difficult to determine, since after each eruption they increase significantly. The word "Grimsvotn" in Icelandic means "gloomy waters". It arose, perhaps, because after the volcanic eruptions, some part of the Vatnajökull glacier melts,which covers it. Grimsvotn is considered almost the most active on the peninsula, as it is activated every 3-10 years. The last time it happened in 2011, on May 21. Smoke and ash escaping from its crater then rose 20 km into the sky. Many flights were canceled not only in Iceland, but also in Britain, Norway, Denmark, Scotland and even Germany.

Fatal Eruption

Lucky is currently quiet and calm. He rarely rages, but, as they say, aptly. In 1783, the once again awakened volcano in Iceland - Lucky - combined diabolical power with its neighbor Grimsvotn and a boiling lava flow hit the surroundings. The length of the fiery river exceeded 130 km. It, sweeping away everything in its path, spilled over an area of 565 km2. At the same time, poisonous vapors of fluorine and sulfur swirled in the air, as in hell. As a result, thousands of animals died, almost all the birds and fish in the area. From high temperatures, the ice began to melt, their waters flooded everything that did not burn. This eruption killed 1/5 of the inhabitants of the country, and the luminous fog, observed all summer even in America, lowered the temperature throughout the Northern Hemisphere of the planet, causing famine in many countries. This eruption is considered the most destructive in the 1000-year history of the Earth.

Eraivajokull

Here they are, Icelandic volcanoes. I would like to finish our story with a story about Eraivajokull, the largest on the island. It is on it that the highest point of Iceland is located - the Hvannadalshnukur peak. The volcano is located in the Skaftafell nature reserve. Heightthis giant is 2119 meters, its caldera is not round, like most other similar formations, but rectangular with sides of 4 and 5 km. Eraivajokull is considered active, but its last eruption ended in May 1828, and it doesn’t bother anyone anymore - it stands, covered with ice, and admires with its harsh beauty.