1. Vestmannæyjar, Iceland
(Westman Islands)
September 2011

2. Ferry to Vestmannæyjar
The brand-new ferry dock in south Iceland cuts the ferry trip from 3 hours to 30 minutes.

3. Landeyjahöfn ferry dock
Opened in 2011, the brand-
new terminal is a source of
controversy. Engineers argue
the wrong location was chosen.
The harbor silts up and
requires dredging, and the
terminal is now too shallow for
using the larger ferry.

4. Vestmannæyjar in the distance – strong winds blew ash from the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull
eruption off the glacier and into the atmosphere, creating a smoky haze.

6. The mountains of Eyjafjallajökull recede as the ferry heads to Vestmannæyjar. Rough seas
toss us about, eliciting shrieks from a girls’ soccer team.

7. Heimæy Island

8. Elliðæy Island – home to my dream house

10. Heimæy harbor

12. Helgafell and the town of Heimæy

13. 1973 Eruption
At 1:45 am on January 17, without
warning, a brand-new fissure opened
just east of town. The five-month long
eruption led to the evacuation of the
island as ash and lava buried the town.
By the end of the eruption, one-third of
the town was under lava and the brand-
new volcanic cone of Eldfell stood on
the horizon. The island also increased in
size on the eastern shore, a reminder of
how volatile the Earth really is.

14. Locals battled an estimated 30 million
tons of lava as they watched their
homes burn. After the eruption, most of
the evacuated population returned, but
about 1700 people decided to remain
on mainland Iceland.
The growing lava field threatened to
completely cut off the harbor – critical to
the town’s economy – so they frantically
pumped seawater to cool the lava. Now
Heimæy has a better protected harbor
than before the eruption.
Photos from Folk Museum in town library

15. New and old – Eldfell and Helgafell

16. A spooky house graveyard – reminders of homes buried beneath the lava flow

17. Paths crisscross the Eldfellshraun – the 1973 lava flow

18. Moss has already
colonized the lava flow,
beginning the process
of digesting the rock
into soil, which may
take up to 3,000 years.

20. Helgafell
Now dormant, Helgafell last erupted 5,000 years ago.

21. Street signs in the Eldfellshraun – another reminder of the town buried beneath.

22. The edge of the lava flow, where it stopped in June 1973.

24. Hike to the crater rim of Eldfell

25. View of Helgafell from Eldfell

26. From the summit of Eldfell

28. View across the Eldfellshraun to Heimaklettur and Ystiklettur

30. The soil here is still hot – 500°C just a meter down

34. Vestmannæyjar formed 11,000 years ago through a series of submarine eruptions on the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Eldfell is the latest volcanic incarnation.

37. Entrance to Heimæy’s harbor

38. Edge of lava flow, which threatened the historic Landlyst – maternity
hospital where midwife Sólveig reversed the island’s 80% infant mortality
in the 19th century.

40. Stafkirkjan – reconstructed medieval wooden stave church, present from Norway in 2000.

42. Water tanks crushed by the lava

43. Rebuilt section of Skansin Fort, once used to defend the harbor from pirates.

48. Landskirkja – iconic church from photos of the 1973 eruption

53. Even Heimæy has a team in Iceland’s club soccer league.
Iceland is as soccer crazy as any other European country.

54. Golf course at Herjólfsdalur

56. Hæna and Hani

59. Colonies of birds flock to Vestmannæyjar, including puffins, which had mostly migrated for
the winter by the time I visited.

62. A series of islands trail off Heimæy to the south. Somewhere out there is Surtsey, the island
that formed almost overnight with a explosive eruption in 1963. Surtsey is now a UNESCO
site used by scientists for research.

64. Stórhöfði and Suðurey

71. Hike up Stórhöfði

75. Brimurð beach – where Algerian pirates attacked the island in 1627, killing, pillaging, and
kidnapping 242 islanders as slaves. A disaster in a community of only 500. They eventually
raised money to buy the freedom of 27 of their kidnapped neighbors.

83. Ferry back to mainland Iceland

84. Heimæy Town

88. Last glimpse of Eldfell and Helgafell