Heimaey at a size of 13km² is the largest island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, and the largest Icelandic island outside the main one. Heimaey lies approximately 50km off the south coast of Iceland and it is the only inhabited island of the Vestmannaeyjar islands.
Heimaey's little town and harbour lies next to two ominous volcanoes Eldfell and Helgafell. Eldfell has only been around since 1973, as it was created during a huge five-month eruption that buried parts of the town under 30 million tonnes of lava. Today an excavation project has started and this area often refer to as ''The Pompeii of the north''.
Pompeii of the north:
In 1963 a nearby volcanic eruption which began 130 metres below sea level formed the island of Surtsey. This eruption lasted until 1967 when Surtsey reached its maximum size of 2.7km². Since then, wind and wave erosion have caused the island to steadily diminish in size. The same eruption also created a few other small islands but most of these eroded away fairly quickly.
Heimaey town:
No comments:
Post a Comment