Although several men sustained minor burns, no serious injuries were received. At about 01:55 on 23 January, a fissure opened up on the eastern side of the island, barely a kilometre away from the centre of the town of Heimaey. By early February, the heavy tephra fall had abated, but lava flows began to cause serious damage. The volume of lava being emitted during the eruption fell steadily after the first few days. An operation was mounted to cool the advancing lava flow by pumping sea water on it, and this was successful in preventing the loss of the harbour. Please submit any useful information about climbing Eldfell that may be useful to other climbers. From 23:00 until 01:34 on 23 January, seven tremors were detected, the largest of which measured 2.7 on the Richter scale. Eldfell: Eldfell is a very small volcano, only around 650 feet high, on the Icelandic island of Heimaey. When the Eldfell volcano exploded on Heimaey in 1973, people had to flee in an instant. Yet, while eruptions are spectacular to watch, they can cause disastrous loss of life and property, especially in densely populated regions of the world. Following the end of the eruption, the islanders used the heat from the slowly cooling lava flows to provide hot water and generate electricity. In 1973, the Eldfell volcano erupted. 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. We walked to the trailhead from the harbor without much difficulty. Most of the population left the island by boat. 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. The maroon Eldfell volcano - the Fire Mountain - was created in the volcanic eruption of 1973, in the Westman islands. 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. 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. Not too much, so you don't need to be top fit to get there. 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. The line of the 1973 fissure south of Eldfell is clearly seen, 4 Destruction of houses, creation of land, A description of the eruption and evacuation, Eyewitness account of the early days of the eruption, Eruptive history of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, https://www.academickids.com:443/encyclopedia/index.php/Eldfell, Centre for Short-Lived Phenomena bulletins 1545, 1547, 1552, 1567, published by the. It is a moderately active volcano, but, relatively less active than its neighbors Katla and Eldfell. The Vestmannaeyjar (Icelandic for Westman islands) archipelago lies off the south coast of Iceland, and consists of several small islands, all formed by eruptions in the Holocene epoch. There was some underwater volcanic activity during the ongoing eruptions, which caused the water pipeline to Heimaey to break. Eldfell is a cinder cone 200m high on the island of Heimay in the Vestmann islands off the south west cost of Iceland. A few people remained to carry out essential functions and to salvage belongings from threatened houses. 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. At 01:00 on 23 January 1973, a volcanic eruption of the mountain Eldfell began on Heimaey. This would mean a significant decrease in Iceland’s importing income. Eldfell is a cinder cone volcano just over 200 m high on the Icelandic island of Heimaey. Efforts to mitigate the hazards presented by the accumulation of poisonous gas included the building of a large tephra wall to divert gases away from the town, and the digging of a trench to channel away the CO2. The efforts of the islanders to halt the lava flows received particular attention, with coverage in publications such as National Geographic (e.g. Volcanic ash fell over most of the island, destroying many houses, and a lava flow threatened to close off the harbour, the island's main income source via its fishing fleet. Kristjansson L., Simon I., Cohen M.L., Björnsson S. (1975). Professor Sigurgeirsson provided advice to the pumping crews on where to direct their efforts to most efficiently slow the flows. 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. The Vestmannaeyjar archipelago was settled in about 874 AD, originally by escaped Irish slaves belonging to Norse settlers on the mainland. The tremors continued at a reduced rate until 11:00 on 22 January, after which they stopped until 23:00 that evening. This unique and famous sight in Iceland was formed by volcanoes, looking like a giant elephant rising out from the sea. The decline was slower after that, but by the middle of April the flow rate had fallen to about 5 m³/s. Explore {{searchView.params.phrase}} by color family {{familyColorButtonText(colorFamily.name)}} Volcano eruption on Heimaey Island in Iceland on 23 January 1973. Eldfell is a cinder cone volcano just over 200 m high on the Icelandic island of Heimaey. 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. 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. I hope to use this to supplement the 1974 film and to produce a teaching CD-ROM illustrating the eruption. Although plagued by poor water supplies and piracy during much of its history, Heimaey became the most important centre of the Icelandic fishing industry, having one of the few good harbours on the southern side of the country, and being situated in very rich fishing grounds. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. There were not many severe environmental impacts from the eruption. The evacuation was necessary because lava flows were already moving slowly into the eastern side of town, and the whole of the small island was threatened by the likelihood of heavy ash fall. From its initial rate of 100 m³/s, the emission rate fell to about 60 m³/s by 8 February, and just 10 m³/s by the middle of March. Within six hours of the onset of the eruption, almost all of the 5,300 people of the island were safely on the mainland. The threat of lava flows cutting off the harbour was the most significant facing the town. After three months of continuous activity, S. Thorarinsson reported on 21 April that the Heimaey eruption is slowly abating. The workers dubbed themselves 'The Suicide Squad', and managed to lay pipes up to 130 metres (430 ft) inward from the flow front, directly over the advance. Man Against Volcano: The Eruption on Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. Eldfell Volcano Loop is a 3.3 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Vestmannaeyjar, Southern, Iceland that offers scenic views and is rated as moderate. Because of severe storms in the days before the eruption, almost the entire fishing fleet was in the harbour, a stroke of luck which greatly assisted the organisation of the rapid evacuation. On the night in question, Eldfell, a new volcanic cone, was formed. While the island had been evacuated up to six hours after the first eruption, there was still no clean drinking water supply for the very few people who chose to stay on the island. By the end of the eruption, Eldfell stood about 220 m (720 ft) above sea level. Houses close to the rift were soon destroyed by lava flows and tephra fall. This type of volcano is generally a steep sided, symmetrical cone of large dimensions. Be the first to submit your climbing note! Efforts to prevent the loss of the harbour are described further below. The eruption had made headlines around the world when it began, and was covered constantly by Icelandic news crews throughout. The ensuing lava-cooling operations were the most ambitious that had ever been undertaken. The fissure rapidly extended to a length of 2 km (1.25 miles), crossing the island from one shore to the other. The last land addition to Iceland was formed in 1963: This island is called Surtsey and is located 30km/18.6 miles off the main island. 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. Today the ground is still hot enough in places to bake bread or char wood. 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 area of the lava flow is 2.1 km 2, and the average thickness is about 70 m. The lava which came from the volcanoes on the plate borders formed the island. 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