Eldgjá

When Eldgjá ( Isl fire canyon) is an 8 km long canyon, the central part of the 75 km-long volcano of the same column that is part of the volcanic system of the central volcano Katla in Iceland.

• 7.1 Scientific contributions
• 7.2 photos
• 7.3 Other

Location and discovery

The gorge Eldgjá located in the south of the highlands between Landmannalaugar and Kirkjubæjarklaustur in the community Skaftárhreppur and is up to 150 m deep and up to 600 m wide. Þorvaldur Thoroddsen discovered the canyon on 22 July 1893.

Outbreak series 934-40

The Eldgjá probably formed during an eruption in 934, who must have had considerable proportions, because the leaked Lavamenge is estimated to be about 18 cubic kilometers and thrown into the air to 1.4 cubic kilometers of tephra.

Putative sequence of the outbreak series

The series of eruptions began with a massive explosive eruption on the southwestern end of the eruption column, which is below the Mýrdalsjökull. This triggered the glacier runs eastward from over the Mýrdalssandur and also about the Mælifellssandur north. At the same time there was an outbreak in the caldera of Katla. The joined effusive eruptions in the north adjoining the Mýrdalsjökull ice-free part of the column.

The middle part of the column, the actual gorge Eldgjá arose in the next phase of the outbreak. Finally, there were also outbreaks in the north- east at the edge of Vatnajökull. The respective outbreak series began with an explosive and ended with an effusive phase.

Overall, the eruptions lasted about 3-4 years.

Traces of the eruption

The walls of the canyon consist palagonite, but are covered with slag. Some tracks can infer the presence of lava pillars. The slag on the floor of the crater Eldgjá should then also have been active.

Environmental impact

As for the environmental impact, Eldgjá was one of the largest eruptions in historic times, which makes that of Lakikrater, but also that of Tambora in 1815 far behind. They fed 219 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, where they react with water and oxygen, were 450 million tons of sulfuric acid. The aerosols must have covered much of the Northern Hemisphere. But the historical sources from the period are sparse. The effect also distributed over a number of years.

Influence on the population

The impact on the population must have been devastating. Interestingly, however, makes no mention of the famous Icelandic sources to the Middle Ages the outbreak directly, neither the Land Acquisition Book ( Landnámabók ) nor the Icelandic Book ( Íslendingabók ), Iceland's history of the scholar Ari Fróði. Various theories exist about this striking reticence regarding such an important event. Inter alia suspected you, you would want to deter any further settlers of Iceland.

Waterfall Ófærufoss

A waterfall Ófærufoss, located in the gorge. He used to cross a natural bridge, but the collapsed due to snowmelt in the winter of 1992 /1993.

Transport links

The Eldgjá is from the south over mountain tracks to reach the Búlandsvegur 208 and the Fjallabaksleið nyrðri F208 of the ring road. Several rivers have to be waded.

The slopes on Landmannalaugar further to the southern end of the Sprengisandur highland road.

Northeast of the Eldgjá are the Laki craters.