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Emerging Volcano and
Geothermal Related Tourism
in Iceland
Ross Dowling one-third of all the lava to surface on Earth in the
last 1000 years being of Icelandic origin.
Introduction Nowhere on Earth is such a showcase of
Iceland is located in the North Atlantic Ocean just volcanic features found (Harlow, 2008) and on
average there are eruptions occurring every four
south of the Arctic Circle. At 103,000km² in size, to five years (Guðmundsson, 2007). The volcanoes
it is the world’s 18th largest island, and Europe’s include Hekla, Eldgjá and Eldfell and the eruption
second largest island following Great Britain. It is of Laki in 1783–1784 caused dust clouds and haze
considered to be a part of Europe, not North to appear over most of Europe and parts of Asia
America, though geologically the island belongs and Africa for months after the eruption. Recent
to both continents. Due to its cultural, economic eruptions have included the new island of Surtsey,
and linguistic similarities, in some contexts Iceland which rose above the ocean in a series of volcanic
is also included in Scandinavia. It is reasonably eruptions between 1963 and 1968. A second
remote with its nearest neighbours being Green- occurred on the island of Heimaey in 1973 which
land (287km) and the Faroe Islands (420km). The produced the new red cinder cone Eldfell, and a
population is 316,000, and its capital city Reykjavik third is Hekla which produced a series of powerful
is the world’s northernmost one. The majority of earthquakes which shook the country in 2000.
the people live in coastal areas near the capital Iceland has a high concentration of active
with other major towns scattered around the volcanoes due to unique geological conditions
coast. Only a quarter of the country is vegetated (Wikipedia, 2009a). The island has about 130
and much of the remainder is lakes, glaciers or volcanic mountains, of which 18 have erupted
lava-covered wasteland.
since the settlement of Iceland. Over the past
Geology and volcanism 500 years, Iceland’s volcanoes have erupted a third
of the total global lava output. Although the Laki
Sitting astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland’s eruption in 1783 had the largest eruption of lava
geology is a work in progress as it is the youngest in the last 500 years, the Eldgjá eruption of
country in Europe (Einarsson, 2006). It has 22 934AD and other Holocene eruptions were even
active volcanoes, 250 geothermal areas, 780 hot larger. Geologists explain this high concentration
springs, and the world’s third largest ice-cap. It is of volcanic activity as being due to a combination
one of the world’s most active hot-spots with of the island’s position on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
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