Iceland's At It Again!

[Xamonas Chegwé]

There are signs that Katla, one of Iceland's most destructive volcanos, may be about to put on a show.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15995845

[klr]

Volcano tourism. It would be a great idea, as long as you were prepared to travel there by boat ...

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Volcano tourism. It would be a great idea, as long as you were prepared to travel there by boat ...

They have a lot of that already. Although the Icelandic government seals of the area around eruptions - you need a special license to get close. If Katla goes though, you will be able to see it from miles away. I would recommend Heimay island as a good vantage point.

Here's a pic I took of a picnic table in the shade of girders from a bridge that was washed away by floodwater the last time there was a major sub-glacial eruption. Most of the southern coast of Iceland is a floodplain of black ash dotted with the remains of roads and bridges.

[borealis]

They've been waiting Katla to erupt to I-don't-even-know-how-many-years... At least 30? And "any day now" at least three years.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

They've been waiting Katla to erupt to I-don't-even-know-how-many-years... At least 30? And "any day now" at least three years.

In the past, there has usually been 40 - 80 years between major eruptions - the last was in 1918, so it's a little overdue. Also, records show that Eyjafjallajökull usually erupts about a year prior to Katla.

And now there is unprecedented levels of seismic activity in the area...

I think it's a little more than "any day now".

[borealis]

Yeah, of course it will eventually erupt. But this hype around Katla has been for so many years, that I'm really starting to hope that it happens soon. Must have been fun for the peeps in Vik i Myrdal...

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Vik is in trouble if Katla blows. If it looks imminent, the whole town will be evacuated.

The pic above is from a little further east - about halfway between Vik and the Skaftafell national park.

Here are a few more pics...

Vik church - probably the only building in Vik high enough to survive a major eruption inside the Myrdalsjökull glacier.

Reynisdrangar - The Troll Rocks - Sea stacks off the coast at Vik.

Myrdalsjökull seen from near Vik - Katla is hiding under the ice!

Eyjafjallajökull glacier (only just) seen from Heimay island

All of these were taken in 2005.

[borealis]

Familiar sights

[Ronja]

Thanks both for the heads up and the great pics, XC!

borealis has a fair point in that authorities / scientists and especially the media trumping up disaster scenario this and disaster scenario that does tend to numb people and make most of us more than just a bit skeptical (sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst). Especially when it is pretty clear that such trumping up is done to further economic interests (paper circulation numbers / research funding / etc).

If I may ask, what does Sælir say about Katla? You've grown up with her and all the stories about her and the other Icelandic volcanoes, after all.