- 2010 eruption
- Interesting facts about Eyjafjallajökull
- Eyjafjallajökull for tourists
Eyjafjallajökull volcano is located in the southern part of Iceland (125 km away from Reykjavik). Eyjafjallajökull reaches a height of 1666 m, and its crater diameter is 3-4 km (until 2010 it was covered with glaciers).
The volcano was considered dormant for about 200 years. Before falling asleep, Eyjafjallajökull erupted for a year. This eruption of 2 points led to the melting of the glacier of the same name.
2010 eruption
Eyjafjallajökull showed its activity at the end of 2009: about 1000 tremors were registered in 3 months (1-2 points). GPS measurements at the end of February 2010 showed that the earth's crust had shifted 3 cm to the southeast. The activity of the volcano increased, reaching a maximum in early March (up to 3000 tremors were noted per day). 500 people had to be resettled from the area around the volcano due to the threat of flooding (the glacier began to melt intensively) and the Keflavik airport in the city of the same name had to be closed.
Eyjafjallajökull began to erupt on March 20, 2010, resulting in a 0.5-kilometer rift in the glacier (the ash cloud rose a kilometer in height). On March 22, a lava flow rushed into the Hrunagil Gorge, resulting in an impressive lava fall. On March 25, water got into the crater - there was a steam explosion and the eruption entered a stable phase. On March 31, a new crack was formed (length - 0.3 km), located 200 m from the first. On the same day, the lava in the Hrunagil gorge froze. Until April 5, lava continued to erupt, but from both cracks (it covered an area of 1.3 square kilometers). By April 7, the lava from the first vent stopped pouring out.
After that, seismic activity was recorded on April 12 at 23:00 under the central part of the volcano. At midnight, the volcano erupted, raising a column of dust 8 kilometers high. This led to the formation of another crack (its length was 2 km). The melting of the glacier led to the inundation of habitable areas and the evacuation of about 700 people.
On April 15-16, the ash rose to a height of 13 km, which means it fell into the stratosphere. On April 17-18, the height of the ash column was estimated at 8 km, that is, it stopped falling into the stratosphere. This eruption led to the suspension of air traffic in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the northern regions of Great Britain (about 6,000 flights were canceled on April 15). By the end of April, flights in the airspace of the European Union were resumed, but partially the restrictions on flights remained in May. In general, the intensity of the 2010 eruption was estimated at 4 points.
It should be noted that in 920, 1612, 1921-1823, the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull led to the “activation” of Katla (the distance between the volcanoes is 12 km), in connection with which many geophysicists put forward a version that the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull for 2010 may soon lead and to the eruption of Katla. Other scientists are confident that 2010 is one of the links in a chain of eruptions that will reach its climax by 2030. Still others believe that it is still impossible to predict how the volcano will “behave” in the future.
Interesting facts about Eyjafjallajökull
As part of the study, American linguists found that only 0.05% of earthlings pronounce the name of the volcano correctly. For the convenience of memorizing the word Eyjafjallajökull, an Icelandic singer (Eliza Geirsdottir Newman) even invented a special song. But in Russian transcription, the pronunciation of the word Eyjafjallajökull is phonetically imprecise.
Photographer Sean Stijmeyer filmed the volcano for a long time, subsequently creating a video from thousands of photos that allows you to see how Eyjafjallajökull has changed.
Eyjafjallajökull for tourists
Tourist groups are brought to the volcano by buses, and special jeep tours are also organized for them. Often the local population plays the role of individual guides - they guide them through areas where lava flowed. It is worth noting that during trekking trips, travelers will have to overcome about 17 km of the path.
In addition, you can appreciate the power of the volcano by participating in a helicopter excursion - you will be offered to look at the mouth of the volcano and the traces left by lava in 2010 from a height.
Tourists should take into account that there are several interesting objects at the foot of the volcano:
- Skougar village (famous for its original soddy farmsteads);
- a museum dedicated to the volcano;
- Skogafoss waterfall (its width is 25 m), “fed” by the Skogau river. Arriving at the waterfall, everyone can admire the stream falling from a 60-meter height, as well as a single or even double rainbow.
A hiking trail that stretches between the Eyjafjallajökull and Myrdalsjökull glaciers will lead tourists to the Skogafoss waterfall. In addition, in the vicinity of the waterfall, it will be possible to find a camping.
