Eldfell
Sign in to saveEldfell is a volcanic cone just over high on the Icelandic island of Heimaey in the Westman Islands. It formed in a volcanic eruption that began without warning on the eastern side of Heimaey on 23 January 1973. The name means Hill of Fire in Icelandic.
Key facts
- Mountain.name
- Eldfell
- Mountain.photo
- Eldfell, Heimaey, Islas Vestman, Suðurland, Islandia, 2014-08-17, DD 067.jpg
- Mountain.photo_caption
- Eldfell, August 2014
- Mountain.elevation_m
- 200
- Mountain.prominence_m
- 200
- Mountain.map
- Iceland
- Mountain.map_caption
- Iceland
- Mountain.label_position
- left
- Mountain.location
- Heimaey island, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland
- Mountain.type
- Volcanic cone
- Mountain.age
- Historical
- Mountain.volcanic_zone
- Southern Volcanic Flank Zone
- Mountain.last_eruption
- January to June 1973
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Background
- Eruption
- Evacuation
- Destruction of houses, creation of land
- Lava-cooling operations
- Final stages
- Heimaey since the eruption
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Eldfell is a volcanic cone just over high on the Icelandic island of Heimaey in the Westman Islands. It formed in a volcanic eruption that began without warning on the eastern side of Heimaey on 23 January 1973. The name means Hill of Fire in Icelandic.
The eruption caused a major crisis for the island and led to its temporary evacuation. Volcanic ash fell over most of the island, destroying around 400 homes, and a lava flow threatened to close off the harbor, the island's main income source via its fishing fleet. An operation was mounted to cool the advancing lava flow by pumping sea water onto it, which was successful in preventing the loss of the harbor.