about 2 weeks ago me and my roommates molly and jess and our friend moritz went to the Westmen Islands on a little excursion. the area constitutes a little collection of islands just to the south of iceland, about an hour drive from reykjavik, and then a 3 hour ferry ride to the island of Heimaey. Heimaey is the only really populated place in the westmen isles, with a town of about 4500 people. this area is of much interest geologically, as there was a large eruption in 1973 which devestated the town, and added probably a square kilometer or more to the islands surface area. the lava fields which are left feel like a lunar wasteland or something. virtually nothing grows there still, despite it being nearly 40 years. the terrain is rough and broken and is very difficult to traverse (see here).
we climbed to the highest point on the island on our last day before we left, and you could see a very clear line where the lava fields contact the town (see here). i'm pretty sure there is a church right beside it. its unreal to walk on a part of the earth that is less than 40 years old.
photos!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment