Nýey (), Nýeyjar , Nyø (Danish), was a small, uninhabited island that formed in 1783 due to an underwater eruption in the

Mid-Atlantic Ridge The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge (a Divergent boundary, divergent or constructive Plate tectonics, plate boundary) located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest mountai ...

southwest of

Reykjanes Reykjanes () is a small headland on the south-western end of the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, giving the main peninsula its name. Volcanic action is responsible for forming the entire peninsula. The nearest town is Keflavik. The name, , trans ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. It disappeared within a year.Islandsbloggen, 2011/04
/ref>Ferlir, Underwater Eruption Out of Reykjanes
/ref>

History

The formation of "Nýeyjar" began on May 1, 1783. It attracted a lot of attention and some connected it to the

1783 Calabrian earthquakes The 1783 Calabrian earthquakes were a sequence of five strong earthquakes that hit the region of Calabria in southern Italy (then part of the Kingdom of Naples), the first two of which produced significant tsunamis. The epicenters form a clear ...

. The captain of a 'small ship' (" :is: húkkerta") that sailed in the area, wrote in his

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digita ...

about a burning island due southwest of

Geirfuglasker Geirfuglasker (, "Great Auk Rock") was a small islet near Reykjanes, Iceland. It was volcanic rock with steep sides except for two landing places. The rough surf around the island usually made it inaccessible to humans, and one of the last refu ...

. He tried to observe it but had to stay over half a mile away, due to the poisonous sulphurous smoke. King

Christian VII of Denmark Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was King of Denmark–Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. He was affected by mental illness and ...

named the island "Nýey", ordered an expedition to it, and dedicated it to the monarchy with a

Danish flag The flag of Denmark (, ) is red with a white Nordic cross, which means that the cross extends to the edges of the flag and that the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. A banner with a white-on-red cross is attested as havin ...

. He also planned for an inscribed stone to be placed on the island. It had disappeared by the summer of 1784, when Magnús Stephensen (Lawyer and Supreme Court Judge), planned to dedicate it to the king whilst en route to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Sources

* Vísindavefurinn : " How common are new islands in eruptions? “ (Vísindavefurinn, 5044, Hversu algengt er að nýjar eyjar verði til í eldgosum?)University of Iceland, Earth Sciences, How common are new islands in eruptions? by Professor Sigurður Steinþórsson, 9 June 2005.
/ref>

References

Ephemeral islands Islands of Iceland Mid-Atlantic Ridge Southwest Iceland Uninhabited islands of Iceland {{Iceland-geo-stub

History

See also

Sources

References