Heimaey, Iceland

After the 1973 eruption

Images by Amy Clifton, 14-15 August 1994

View of Eldfell from the town of Vestmannaeyjar
(Full picture JPEG: 36K) Eldfell looming over the town square of Vestmannaeyjar.

Entrance to the cemetery of Vestmannaeyjar
(Full picture JPEG: 72K) View of Eldfell through church yard. The gate in the foreground has been a famous object to photographers during the 1973, when only the top of the arc was still looming above the tephra cover.

Eldfell volcano seen from the cemetery of Vestmannaeyjar
(Full picture JPEG: 72K) Cone of Eldfell behind the cemetery. Note that some small fumaroles are still active on the upper crater rim.

Crater of Eldfell, seen from the 1973 lava field
(Full picture JPEG: 36K) View from the northwest into the horseshoe-shaped crater of Eldfell. During the 1973 eruption, this side of the crater wall was kept open by the continuously outflowing lava. Note fumarolic activity on upper parts of the cone (but not from the crater floor) and moss-covered 1971 lava in foreground.

Home destroyed by 1973 lava flow
(Full picture JPEG: 84K) House destroyed and partially buried by lava in 1973, left as a remainder of the eruption. Tens of other houses suffered a similar fate (most of them even disappeared completely under the lava), and hundreds of others were crushed under the weight of up to 3 m of tephra.