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Vestmanna Islands
Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyjabær. The other islands are uninhabited, although six have single hunting cabins. Vestmannaeyjar came to international attention in 1973 with the eruption of Eldfell volcano, which destroyed many buildings and forced a month-long evacuation of the entire population to mainland Iceland. Approximately one-fifth of the town was destroyed before the lava flow was halted by application of 6.8billion litres of cold sea water. Geography The Vestmannaeyjar archipelago is young in geological terms. The islands lie in the Southern Icelandic Volcanic Zone and have been formed by eruptions over the past 10,000–12,000 years. The volcanic system consists of 70–80 volcanoes both above and below the sea. Vestmannaeyjar comprises the following isla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vestmannaeyjabær
Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyjabær. The other islands are uninhabited, although six have single hunting cabins. Vestmannaeyjar came to international attention in 1973 with the eruption of Eldfell volcano, which destroyed many buildings and forced a month-long evacuation of the entire population to mainland Iceland. Approximately one-fifth of the town was destroyed before the lava flow was halted by application of 6.8billion litres of cold sea water. Geography The Vestmannaeyjar archipelago is young in geological terms. The islands lie in the Southern Icelandic Volcanic Zone and have been formed by eruptions over the past 10,000–12,000 years. The volcanic system consists of 70–80 volcanoes both above and below the sea. Vestmannaeyjar comprises the following isla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elliðaey
Elliðaey (; or Ellirey ) is a small island south of Iceland. It is the most northeastern of the Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands), an archipelago consisting of 15 to 18 islands and assorted smaller rocks. Geography The island has a size of , making it the third-largest island in the archipelago. It has no permanent population and is not home to much wildlife except for an abundance of puffins. The larger and nicer of two buildings on the island is a hunting lodge, built in 1953 by the Elliðaey Hunting Association. There also exists an old storage hut and workshop built into the hill across from the lodge, it may have been used by biologists to store equipment. The lodge is often referred to as the "world's loneliest house" on social media. Despite a widespread misconception among foreign fans, the Icelandic singer and artist Björk does not live on the island. The misconception comes from a speech by the Icelandic prime minister, who in 2000 said he would be willing to allow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basalt Column
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Rapid-cooling, fine-grained basalt is chemically equivalent to slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro. The eruption of basalt lava is observed by geologists at about 20 volcanoes per year. Basalt is also an important rock type on other planetary bodies in the Solar System. For example, the bulk of the plains of Venus, which cover ~80% of the surface, are basaltic; the lunar maria are plains of flood-basaltic lava flows; and basalt is a common rock on the surface of Mars. Molten basalt lava has a low viscosity due to its relatively low silica content (between 45% and 52%), resulting in rapidly moving lava flows that can spread over great areas before cooling and solidifying. Flood basalts are thick sequence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or underwater, usually at temperatures from . The volcanic rock resulting from subsequent cooling is also often called ''lava''. A lava flow is an outpouring of lava during an effusive eruption. (An explosive eruption, by contrast, produces a mixture of volcanic ash and other fragments called tephra, not lava flows.) The viscosity of most lava is about that of ketchup, roughly 10,000 to 100,000 times that of water. Even so, lava can flow great distances before cooling causes it to solidify, because lava exposed to air quickly develops a solid crust that insulates the remaining liquid lava, helping to keep it hot and inviscid enough to continue flowing. The word ''lava'' comes from Italian and is probably derived from the Latin word ''labes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock containing 25% to 75% ash is described as tuffaceous (for example, ''tuffaceous sandstone''). Tuff composed of sandy volcanic material can be referred to as volcanic sandstone. Tuff is a relatively soft rock, so it has been used for construction since ancient times. Because it is common in Italy, the Romans used it often for construction. The Rapa Nui people used it to make most of the ''moai'' statues on Easter Island. Tuff can be classified as either igneous or sedimentary rock. It is usually studied in the context of igneous petrology, although it is sometimes described using sedimentological terms. Tuff is often erroneously called tufa in guidebooks and in television programmes. Volcanic ash The material that is expelled in a volcanic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palagonite
Palagonite is an alteration product from the interaction of water with volcanic glass of chemical composition similar to basalt. Palagonite can also result from the interaction between water and basalt melt. The water flashes to steam on contact with the hot lava and the small fragments of lava react with the steam to form the light-colored palagonite tuff cones common in areas of basaltic eruptions in contact with water. An example is found in the pyroclastic cones of the Galapagos Islands. Charles Darwin recognized the origin of these cones during his visit to the islands. Palagonite can also be formed by a slower weathering of lava into palagonite, resulting in a thin, yellow-orange rind on the surface of the rock. The process of conversion of lava to palagonite is called ''palagonitization.'' Palagonite soil is a light yellow-orange dust, comprising a mixture of particles ranging down to sub-micrometer sizes, usually found mixed with larger fragments of lava. The color is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skerry
A skerry is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, hardy grasses. They are often used as resting places by animals such as seals and birds. Etymology The term ''skerry'' is derived from the Old Norse ', which means a rock in the sea (which in turn derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *''sker''-, "cut", in the sense of a rock cut off from the land). The Old Norse term ' was brought into the English language via the Scots language word spelled or . It is a cognate of the Scandinavian languages' words for ''skerry'' – Icelandic, fo, sker, da, skær, sv, skär, no, skjær / skjer, found also in german: Schäre, fi, kari, et, skäär, lv, šēra, lt, Šcheras and russian: шхеры (). In Scottish Gaelic, it appears as ', e.g. Sula Sgeir, in Irish as '','' in Welsh as '','' and in Manx as ''.'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geirfuglasker (Vestmannaeyjar)
''(For the other Icelandic island named Geirfuglasker, located near the (Reykjanes) peninsula, please see Geirfuglasker)'' Geirfuglasker (, "great auk skerry") or Freykja is a small island in the Vestmannaeyjar Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyja ... archipelago. Vestmannaeyjar Islands of Iceland {{Iceland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geldungur
Geldungur () is an island in the Vestmann Islands, south of Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s .... The island is one of the many islands that homes the Icelandic town Vestmannaeyjar (4,300 people). The island is only 5 acres References Vestmannaeyjar {{Iceland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Súlnasker
Súlnasker () is a small island in the Vestmann Islands, south of Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s .... Islands of Iceland Vestmannaeyjar {{Iceland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellisey
Hellisey () is an island in the Vestmann Islands, south of Iceland. It is 6 km southwest of Heimaey and 13 km northeast of Surtsey. Hellisey only has an area of 0.1 km ² and extends to about 100 m above sea level. Nature The island is a bird paradise. Like other Vestmann Islands, Hellisey is also a volcanic island. A local company makes fishing tours to the island. Prior to 1960, the island also had some sheep. Miscellaneous A fishing boat was named after the island. It sank on 12 March 1984. Guðlaugur Friðþórsson Guðlaugur Friðþórsson (born 24 September 1961) is an Icelandic fisherman who survived six hours in cold water after his fishing vessel had capsized and furthermore trekked, for another three hours, across lava fields to reach a town for help ... was the only survivor of the crew. As with other Vestmann islands, Hellysey has inspired some traditional poems References Islands of Iceland Vestmannaeyjar {{Iceland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brandur
Brandur () is an island in the Vestmann Islands, south of Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s .... The name of the island derives from an ancient Icelandic tale about a cat named Brandur, that swam its way to the island from one of the adjacent islands. The name Brandur has since then experienced a steady growth in popularity in the cat community. Islands of Iceland Vestmannaeyjar {{Iceland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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