The Icelandic eruption is happening

Posted on by Juliet Frost

If there wasn’t a plague on, I’d be in Iceland by now, or at least I’d have a flight booked and be pacing the floor waiting for it. You see, the Icelandic eruption finally started just before 9pm on Friday and it’s gorgeous!

(If anyone can give me a valid reason I can present to immigration to prove I’m allowed to go and see it, please do! Surely the world needs an Iceland-enthusiast travel blogger to attend the eruption?)

I’m so excited. I watched Holuhraun rumbling for a month or two before it finally started pouring lava back in 2014 but this one is very different. Holuhraun happened right in the middle of nowhere, between the Desert of Misdeeds and Vatnajökull, up in the north-east. To get there from Reykjavik you either have to drive six and a half hours to the turning off the Ring Road and then three to four hours across a very hostile lava field with no real roads or you have to fly to Akureyri, drive an hour and a half to the turning and then across the lava field. Not to mention that it started in late August and that’s virtually the beginning of winter up at Holuhraun. In all, it was pretty hard to access.

But the new Icelandic eruption is happening within sight of Reykjavik. It’s nowhere near Reykjavik, it isn’t going to cause any damage and the only disruption it’s causing is the traffic jams where three-quarters of Iceland have taken to their cars to go and see it in person. But it’s very hot and it’s causing a red glow in the sky and that’s visible from the capital.

So, where it’s actually happening is in the vicinity of a mountain called Fagradalsfjall (my best attempt at pronouncing it is Fy-ra-dals-fi-yatl), in a valley called Geldingadalur. When it started, it wasn’t actually a volcano, it was just a fissure eruption that started at about two hundred metres long but over the course of the last two days, it’s built a small cinder cone with a tall fragile top that’s probably going to collapse pretty soon. If it keeps going, it’ll build another and it’ll make its newborn volcano a bit bigger but I’m no volcanologist and I don’t know much about the building process.

About the name. It hasn’t officially been named yet. I’m seeing people refer to it as Fagradalsafjall and Geldingadalur but there’s a good chance it won’t end up being named either of those. Fagradalsfjall means Pretty Valley Mountain and people are arguing a little over Geldingadalur. Gelding’s Valley, Castration Valley, Eunuch Valley… you pick your favourite translation. We’ll see what gets officially settled on most likely when it’s finished.

There are two exciting things to see. The first is small rivers of glowing red lava pouring gently into the valley. At the moment, it’s not looking likely to spread further than about half a mile in any direction from its central volcano. It’s just filling up the valley with smooth creamy buttercream-like lava. The second is small fire fountains dancing in the crater. They look amazing by night, all that red and gold and glow and fire, but they also look amazing by day. This is a proper classic volcanic eruption but in miniature. It’s not producing ash and the lava isn’t going to destroy anything at all. There are only two hazards: it’s producing slightly above-dangerous levels of toxic gases, which means anyone living in the vicinity should keep their windows closed; and tourists whose excitement is overriding their common sense (I would absolutely be one of them if not for the plague). Some of them may be getting too close to the hot stuff, some of them are getting too close to the toxic gases and some are suffering the usual problems of being out and about in the cold and dark – getting lost, exhausted and hypothermic.

Every volcanologist, geologist, photographer, drone operator and journalist is there right now, along with any enthusiasts who can manage to get there and also pretty much all Icelanders living within about two hours. The science-types are walking among the fresh lava bringing back samples and the photo-types are going up in helicopters to get some spectacular images. I’ve seen geography teachers on Twitter announcing that they’re foregoing the planned tectonic plate boundaries lesson today in favour of a live volcano lesson – how amazing would it be to learn how volcanoes work from a real life erupting one? I know volcanoes are going off all the time but it feels like this one is getting a lot more attention from a wider group of people. I haven’t seen pictures or videos from the recent Etna eruptions, for example, I haven’t seen people collecting samples from anything else that’s blown up lately. But to be fair, that might be because Iceland is my specialist interest and I follow relevant people. Of course I’m going to see an Icelandic eruption in more detail than an eruption anywhere else.

I guarantee you that every tour company in Iceland right now is putting together a whole host of new tours ready for the moment it’s safe. “Eruption and Blue Lagoon”, “Eruption and horseriding”, “Eruption and Northern Lights” and so on. I don’t know yet whether I’ll be on one of them or whether I’ll just hire a car and drive myself there so I can sit and stare for as long as I like. But either way, as soon as I’m allowed to go to Iceland, I’ll be there. That lava will be wet and squishy for a few months yet and it’ll be hot and steaming for a few years yet.

My Twitter and Instagram are both about 90% volcano at the moment and there are some amazing photos and videos coming out. For my own convenience and for easing of sharing with you, I’ve made a Guide on Instagram (Icelandic Eruption 2021) to collect everything together and I have a List on Twitter (also called Icelandic Eruption 2021 because why not make it easy?) to follow relevant people. Go and take a look at whichever you prefer. And now for the main event:

 

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A post shared by B E N J A M I N (@benjaminhardman)

 

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A post shared by Jon bjornsson (@spadinn)

 

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A post shared by Asa Steinars: Iceland (@asasteinars)

 

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A post shared by Reykjavik Grapevine (@rvkgrapevine)

**Amazing photo in the featured image from Dan Manns on Twitter.