Iceland Volcanic Activity

March 26th, 2010 by Novi | Posted under Intermezzo.

The condition is very unique geology of Iceland, Iceland has become a high concentration of active volcanoes. Iceland is a volcanic one of the most active among the countries in the world. There are approximately 200 post-glacial volcanoes. At least 30 of the existing volcanoes have erupted since the 9th century AD. On average there was eruption every five years. Almost every type of volcanic activity found in the world is represented in Iceland.
And the most common are fissure eruptions. One of them, a 30 km long crater row, Lakagígar, with about 100 separate craters, erupted in 1783. The flow of lava from this eruption was the largest recorded in the world, covering 565 square kilometers.
Gas and ash from this eruption pasture poisoning, which caused great havoc to the countryside. Resulting damage to agricultural land and impact on hunger to Iceland resulted in the death of tens of thousands through starvation.
Shield volcanoes of the Hawaiian type, such as Skjaldbreiður Þingvellir close, too many, but the only one who is active in historical times is a new Surtsey volcano. Almost all types of cone volcano Fuji ice, the largest of those Öræfajökull (2119 m), Eyjafjallajökull (1666 m), and Snæfellsjökull (1446 m). The crater was created by volcanic eruptions are also very common.
The most famous is the icelandic volcano Hekla, which is famous throughout the Catholic world in the Middle Ages as the home of the damned. Since it was first recorded eruption in 1104, which destroyed vast areas, including the completion Þjórsárdalur, right Hekla has erupted 17 times in the history of time, constantly causing damage to the surrounding rural areas. At the beginning of the eruption in March 1947, columns of smoke and ash rose to 100,000 meters. The eruption lasted for 13 months. In May 1970, a number of small craters in the Hekla eruption, lava flow that lasted for several months. Once again, as recently as 1980 and 1981, there was a series of eruptions.
Katla volcano, hidden under the ice of Mýrdalsjökull, has erupted at least 13 times since the settlement of Iceland, the last in 1918. The eruptions of the sub-glacial volcanoes that caused massive flooding in the case of Katla, may exceed the volume of water in the Amazon River. Askja plateau in the northeast last erupted in 1961, but the eruption in 1875 was the last to cause great damage in this country. Previous eruption was formed Öskjuvatn (Askja Lake), the deepest lake in Iceland (220 m depth).
The most dramatic last volcanic eruption began January 23, 1973 night in the only inhabited island of the Westman, Heimaey. In an extraordinary operation, the entire population of some 5300 were evacuated to the mainland in a matter of hours without any accidents. The eruption lasted until May, and half the town lost in the lava while the rest is covered with a thick layer of ash. Ports and the most important fish processing plant was saved by a brave attempt to cool the scientist icelandic lava flow broke with thousands of tons of sea water, which eventually succeeded in stopping the flow. As a result of the eruption, the island was much enlarged and the port is much better. Rescue and recovery continue to work non-stop, and gradually most of the residents returned to their homes changed much.
Submarine eruptions often occur off the coast of Iceland, especially in the Atlantic Ocean from the southwest ridge Reykjanes peninsula. The last submarine eruption, near the Westman Islands, began to appear on 14 November 1963, making three islands. One survived and the island named Surtsey. The eruption lasted for more than seven years.
Earthquakes often occur in Iceland, but rarely dangerous. The most disasters that occurred in the southern plains in 1784 and 1896, leaving many farms in the ruins. Dalvik village in the north Eyjafjörður in part destroyed by an earthquake in 1934. A small volcanic eruption near Krafla in the northeast, where the first major power plant that uses natural heat is being built, starting in December 1975, and continued off and on for several years. Recently, there was a heavy earthquake that lasted for several weeks, damaging part of a fishing village in northeastern Kópasker in January 1976.