Volcano from the Boat. Eldfell Produced Black

HEIMAEY, ICELAND

1973 Lava flow and harbour from top of Eldfell. The lava advanced rapidly towards the harbour and threatened to block it completely. About 30% of the town was destroyed by the lava, but new houses have been built to replace those damaged beyond repair.

Volcano from the boat. Eldfell produced black tephra (ash) for several months and buried the town’s buildings. The ash was swept from the roofs of the houses so that they were prevented from collapsing, and was bulldozed away to be used for the airstrip runway and new roads.

Harbour and lava front. This is where the huge water pumps brought in from U.S.A. took 6 million tonnes of sea water from the harbour to cool the advancing lava front.

Helgafell from airstrip This is a cinder cone, as seen through the propeller of one of the light planes which use the airstrip. View to icecap on Iceland from Heimaey, with 1973 lava in foreground. The heat is used to generate electricity at a power station in the lava on the right of this photo. The other Westmann islands are also volcanic and date back to about 10,000 years ago. The steep cliffs are due to Atlantic wave erosion on unresistant ashes and basaltic lavas.

Students at the top of Eldfell. This is a cinder cone which is still producing hot gases. Sulphur crusts surround some of the vents from which hot gases still escape.

Town, harbour and lava flow. The town has a population of about 5,000, most of whom are dependent on the fishing harbour for their livelihood. The lava flow narrowed the harbour mouth and made it even more sheltered from Atlantic storms than before, so benefiting the fishing industry. The postcard shows a view of Heimaey before and after the 1973 eruption. Here is a photo of the front of the lava flow, close to the present town. A building which was destroyed is still partly buried under the lava.