Maidans. Icelandic volcano paralyzes air traffic Volcanic eruption on Irish island

Volcanoes are frightening and attract a person to them. For centuries they can sleep. An example is the recent history of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. People cultivate fields on the slopes of fiery mountains, conquer their peaks, build houses. But sooner or later, the fire-breathing mountain will wake up, bringing destruction and misfortune.

It is the sixth largest glacier in Iceland, located in the south, 125 km east of Reykjavik. Under it and partly under the neighboring Myrdalsjökull glacier, a conical volcano hides.

The height of the top of the glacier is 1666 meters, its area is about 100 km². The volcanic crater reaches a diameter of 4 km. Five years ago its slopes were covered with glaciers. The nearest settlement is the village of Skougar, located in the south of the glacier. From here the Skogau river starts, with the famous Skogafoss waterfall.

Eyyafyatlayokudl - the origin of the name

The name of the volcano comes from three Icelandic words that mean island, glacier and mountain. Perhaps that is why it is so difficult to pronounce and hard to remember. According to linguists, only a small part of the inhabitants of the Earth can pronounce this name correctly - Eyyafyatlayokudl volcano. Translation from Icelandic sounds literally like "island of mountain glaciers."

Volcano without a name

As such, the phrase "volcano Eyyafyatlayokudl" entered the world lexicon in 2010. This is funny, considering that in fact, a fire-breathing mountain with that name does not exist in nature. Iceland has many glaciers and volcanoes. There are about thirty of the latter on the island. At 125 kilometers from Reykjavik, in the south of Iceland, there is a rather large glacier. It was he who shared his name with the volcano Eyyafyatlayokudl.

It is under it that there is a volcano, which for many centuries has not come up with a name. He is unnamed. In April 2010, he alarmed the whole of Europe, for some time becoming a world newsmaker. In order not to name it in the media, it was proposed to name it by the name of the glacier - Eyyafyatlayokudl. In order not to confuse our readers, we will call it the same.

Description

Eyjafjallajokull is a typical stratovolcano. In other words, its cone is formed by numerous layers of solidified mixture of lava, ash, stones, etc.

Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano has been active for 700,000 years, but since 1823 it has been categorized as dormant. This suggests that no eruptions have been recorded since the beginning of the 19th century. The state of the Eyyafyatlayokudl volcano did not cause particular cause for concern for scientists. They found that it had erupted several times over the past millennium. True, these manifestations of activity could be classified as calm - they did not pose a danger to people. As evidenced by the documents, the latest eruptions were not distinguished by large emissions of volcanic ash, lava and hot gases.

Irish volcano Eyyafyatlayokudl - the story of one eruption

As already mentioned, after the eruption in 1823, the volcano was recognized as dormant. At the end of 2009, seismic activity intensified in it. Until March 2010, there were about a thousand tremors with a force of 1-2 points. This disturbance occurred at a depth of about 10 km.

In February 2010, employees of the Icelandic Meteorological Institute, using GPS measurements, recorded a displacement of the earth's crust by 3 cm to the southeast in the region of the glacier. Activity continued to grow and reached its maximum by March 3-5. At this time, up to three thousand shocks per day were recorded.

Waiting for the eruption

From the danger zone around the volcano, the authorities decided to evacuate 500 local residents, fearing flooding of the area, which could cause an intense covering of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Keflavik International Airport was closed as a precaution.

Since March 19, the tremors have moved to the east of the northern crater. They were tapped at a depth of 4 - 7 km. Gradually, the activity spread further to the east, and shaking began to occur closer to the surface.

At 23:00 on April 13, Icelandic scientists recorded seismic activity in the central part of the volcano, west of the two cracks that had formed. An hour later, a new eruption began in the south of the central caldera. A column of hot ash rose 8 km.

Another crack appeared, more than 2 kilometers long. The glacier began to actively melt, and its waters flowed both north and south into populated areas. 700 people were urgently evacuated. During the day, meltwater flooded the highway, the first destruction occurred. Volcanic ash has been recorded in southern Iceland.

By April 16, the ash column had reached 13 kilometers. This caused alarm among scientists. When the ash rises above 11 kilometers above sea level, it enters the stratosphere and can be carried over long distances. The spread of ash in an easterly direction was facilitated by a powerful anticyclone over the North Atlantic.

Last eruption

This happened on March 20, 2010. On this day, the last volcanic eruption in Iceland began. Eyjafjallajokull finally woke up at 23:30 GMT. A fault formed in the east of the glacier, the length of which was about 500 meters.

At this time, no large ash emissions were recorded. On April 14, the eruption intensified. It was then that powerful emissions of gigantic volumes of volcanic ash appeared. In this regard, the airspace over part of Europe was closed until April 20, 2010. Occasionally, flights were limited in May 2010. Experts estimated the intensity of the eruption on the VEI scale at 4 points.

Dangerous Ash

It should be noted that there was nothing outstanding in the behavior of the Eyyafyatlayokudl volcano. After seismic activity that lasted several months, a rather calm volcanic eruption began in the region of the glacier on the night of March 20-21. It was not even mentioned in the press. Everything changed only on the night of April 13-14, when the eruption began to be accompanied by the release of a gigantic volume of volcanic ash, and its column reached a great height.

What caused the air transport collapse?

It is worth recalling that since March 20, 2010, an air transport collapse has loomed over the Old World. It was associated with a volcanic cloud, which was created by the suddenly awakened Eyyafyatlayokudl volcano. It is not known where this mountain, silent since the 19th century, gained strength, but gradually a huge cloud of ash, which began to form on April 14, covered Europe.

More than 300 airports across Europe have been paralyzed since airspace was closed. The volcanic ash also caused a lot of anxiety to Russian specialists. Hundreds of flights have been delayed or completely canceled in our country. Thousands of people, including Russians, were waiting for an improvement in the situation at airports around the world.

And the cloud of volcanic ash seemed to play with people, changing the direction of movement daily and completely “did not listen” to the opinions of experts who reassured desperate people that the eruption would not last long.

Geophysicists from the Icelandic weather service told RIA Novosti on April 18 that they were unable to predict the duration of the eruption. Mankind prepared for a protracted "battle" with the volcano and began to count considerable losses.

Oddly enough, but for Iceland itself, the awakening of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano did not have any serious consequences, except, perhaps, for the evacuation of the population and the temporary closure of one airport.

And for continental Europe, a huge column of volcanic ash has become a real disaster, of course, in the transport aspect. This was due to the fact that volcanic ash has such physical properties that are extremely dangerous for aviation. When it enters the aircraft turbine, it is able to stop the engine, which will undoubtedly lead to a terrible disaster.

The risk to aviation is greatly increased due to the large accumulation of volcanic ash in the air, which significantly reduces visibility. This is especially dangerous when landing. Volcanic ash can cause malfunctions in the operation of on-board electronics and radio equipment, on which flight safety largely depends.

Losses

The Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption brought losses to European travel companies. They claim that their losses exceeded $ 2.3 billion, and the damage that hit the pocket every day was approximately $ 400 million.

Airlines' losses were officially estimated at $1.7 billion. The awakening of the fiery mountain affected 29% of the world's aviation. Every day more than a million passengers became hostages of the eruption.

The Russian Aeroflot also suffered. During the closure of air lines over Europe, the company did not perform 362 flights on time. Her losses were in the millions of dollars.

Expert opinions

Experts say that the volcanic cloud really poses a serious danger to aircraft. When an aircraft hits it, the crew notes very poor visibility. On-board electronics work with big interruptions.

The resulting glassy "shirts" on the engine rotor blades, clogging of the holes that are used to supply air to the engine and other parts of the aircraft, can cause their failure. The captains of the airships agree with this.

Volcano Katla

After the activity of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano faded, many scientists predicted an even more powerful eruption of another Icelandic fiery mountain - Katla. It is much larger and more powerful than Eyyafyatlayokudl.

For the last two millennia, when man watched the eruptions of Eyyafyatlayokudl, Katla also exploded after them at intervals of six months.

These volcanoes are located in the south of Iceland, at a distance of eighteen kilometers from each other. They are connected by a common underground system of magma channels. The Katla crater is located under the Myrdalsjokull glacier. Its area is 700 sq. km, thickness - 500 meters. Scientists are sure that during its eruption, ash will fall into the atmosphere ten times more than in 2010. But fortunately, despite the menacing forecasts of scientists, Katla has not yet shown signs of life.

In the spring of 2010, after more than 200 years of dormancy, a volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier became more active in Iceland. The first time the volcano made itself felt on March 20, but the "trial" eruption did not lead to any serious consequences. On April 14, it began to erupt again and threw a huge amount of ash into the air, due to which it was necessary to almost completely stop air traffic over Europe.

The volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier (Eyjafjallajokull, you can listen to the correct pronunciation of this word) does not have its own name, therefore in the media it is customary to call it by the name of the glacier. He wakes up on average once every two hundred years. Over the last millennium, it entered the active phase 4 times, the last one between 1821 and 1823. The eruptions did not result in any particularly serious destruction, despite the fact that the volcano is located 200 kilometers from the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. In the 19th century, eruptions were limited to ash emissions, which, however, were quite toxic due to the high fluorine content.

The fact that the Icelandic volcano will wake up this spring became known back in 2009, when seismologists recorded a large number of weak, magnitude up to 3, earthquakes in the vicinity of the glacier. In early March, more than three thousand earthquakes were recorded on the Eyyafyatlayokudl glacier, which clearly indicated an impending eruption. On March 20, the volcano finally woke up, the first eruption began.

The power of the eruptions was relatively low: local travel companies even began to organize helicopter rides to Eyyafyatlayokudl. However, about 500 farmers were evacuated from the vicinity of the glacier, and local and international flights in Iceland were suspended. By the evening of the next day, when it became known that the awakened volcano did not yet pose any danger, all emergency measures were canceled, and the evacuated citizens were allowed to return home a few more days later.

Scientists have established observation of the volcano. Magma continued to flow from faults in the glacier almost until the second major eruption, which occurred on April 14.

If the first signs of volcanic activity in 200 years near Reykjavik went almost unnoticed, then the second eruption affected the life of the whole of Europe. First, it turned out to be about twenty times more powerful than the first. Secondly, magma began to erupt not from several faults in different parts of the glacier, but from one crater. The red-hot rock began to melt the glacier and provoked a small flood in local areas, from where the authorities hastily evacuated about a thousand farmers.

Well, the main cause of concern was the huge amount of ash thrown out by the eruption into the atmosphere. The ash cloud rose to a height of about 6-10 kilometers and spread to the territory of Great Britain, Denmark and the Scandinavian countries and the countries of the Baltic region. The appearance of ash was not long in coming in Russia - in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, Murmansk and a number of other cities. On the evening of April 15, it looked something like this.

Volcanic ash settles for a very long time (the cloud after the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano settled only after it circled the Earth twice), and is a great danger to aircraft. The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after Zhukovsky notes that ash particles, when they enter the engines, form so-called glassy “shirts” on the rotor blades and can lead to their stop. Also, ash impairs visibility, adversely affects the stability of radio communications and can damage on-board electronics. For safety reasons, flights in places where it accumulates are prohibited.

The decision to restrict the movement of aircraft in Europe was made immediately after the scale of the eruption on the Eyjafjallajokull glacier became apparent. Already on the afternoon of April 15, all flights were canceled at London Heathrow, except for emergency ones. This was followed by cancellations and rescheduling of flights at other airports across Europe. France closed 24 airports, by Thursday evening, airports in Berlin and Hamburg were closed, and then in other German cities. As the cloud moved across Europe, more and more flight cancellations followed, including flights across the Atlantic Ocean and even to Australia and New Zealand.

Air traffic is limited in Minsk, the Russian Aeroflot canceled about 20 flights to European cities. The Khrabrovo airport in Kaliningrad is completely closed for the reception and departure of aircraft, the same measures have been taken at airports bordering the Kaliningrad region of Lithuania. In total, about 4,000 flights were canceled on Thursday, on Friday this number could rise to 11,000.

Among those affected by flight delays are thousands of tourists stranded at airports and many businessmen whose plans and business negotiations were disrupted. Exceptions were not made even for the first persons of states - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had to cancel his working trip to Murmansk and stay in Moscow.

Also, the visit of the heads of many states to Poland for President Lech Kaczynski, which is scheduled for April 18, remains under threat. The airspace of Poland has been blocked almost completely since early Friday morning, only the Krakow airport is functioning (the Polish president will be buried in the Krakow castle), however, most flights have been canceled or postponed indefinitely. However, there is no talk of postponing the date of the funeral of Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash near Smolensk.

The last time Europe and the whole world as a whole faced such a mass cancellation of flights was only in 2001, when planes hijacked by terrorists destroyed the twin towers in New York. Panic then, for obvious reasons, was much more, as well as fears for the lives of passengers.

When everything will return to normal in this case, it is not clear. On the one hand, airport representatives are trying not to escalate panic and promise to resume flights by the end of Friday or at least by Saturday, on the other hand, scientists warn that the ash will affect air traffic for several more weeks, or even months. According to preliminary data, the eruption will cost airlines about a billion dollars.

Scientists record outbreaks of activity of the giant and most dangerous Katla volcano in Iceland, which has been silent for almost a hundred years. A volcanic explosion can be so massive that the volcano releases toxic ash into the atmosphere that can instantly kill more than 200,000 people. Katla is a close neighbor of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, whose eruption in April 2010 caused the worst aviation collapse since World War II.

Deep under a glacier in Iceland, a massive catastrophe is brewing. According to experts, the Katla volcano, popularly known as the "evil sorceress", is preparing to unleash its deadly wrath on the whole of Northern Europe.

Katla is a volcano on the south coast of Iceland, one of the largest in the country.

At the moment, Katla is showing all the clear signs of an imminent explosion. It can be so colossal that the volcano will release toxic ash emissions into the atmosphere that can instantly kill more than 200,000 people. Scientists fear that Katla will again plunge Europe into chaos, as in 2010, when the eruption of its neighbor, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, led to the largest air collapse since the Second World War. A powerful ash column practically paralyzed air traffic - millions of people were stuck in Northern Europe from mid-April to mid-May.

In total, 14 Katla eruptions are known. Previously, the volcano erupted every 50-80 years, but since 1918 it has been silent - during the last eruption, it threw five times more ash into the sky than its neighbor Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. Katla's eruption predicted today will be the first in nearly 100 years. Currently, Katla emits 12 to 24 kilotons of carbon dioxide daily, the volcano's magma chambers are filling up, which indicates an impending disaster and makes experts sound the alarm.

The peak of seismic activity in Iceland occurs in autumn, which carries the highest risk of eruptions. The accumulation of magma inside Katla is greatly enhanced by the presence of a glacier on its crater - this acts in the same way as the lid on a giant pressure cooker. The fact that the volcano is hidden under glaciers also makes it much more difficult to monitor its activity.

Katla is far from the major settlements of Iceland, and the eruption does not threaten the locals. One of the main dangers is that Katla's volcanic activity can cause powerful melting of nearby glaciers and flooding of neighboring areas with melt water.

The Icelanders have a legend about Katla that goes back over eight centuries. According to legend, Katla is the name of a hot-tempered and cruel housekeeper at a local monastery who possessed supernatural powers. Once, when she was accused of witchcraft, the "evil witch" escaped and jumped into the Mýrdalsjökull glacier (which is located above the volcano). An eruption began, destroying the monastery and killing all its inhabitants. Legend warns that one day Katla will return for revenge.

In the spring of 2010, the whole world watched the strongest eruption of the Icelandic volcano with the unusual and fabulous name Eyjafyatlayokudl. It has become one of the most powerful in the modern history of mankind, scientists are still discussing the consequences of this natural phenomenon.

Iceland

This island state is often called the ice kingdom, it is located between Greenland and Norway in close proximity to the Arctic Circle. The main part of Iceland is located on a volcanic plateau, so earthquakes and eruptions are common here. Despite the geographical position, the climate in the region is by no means arctic, but moderately cool, with strong winds and high humidity.

Despite the harsh nature, very positive and friendly people live here. Icelandic hospitality is known all over the world. Every year, thousands of tourists come to these harsh lands to get acquainted with the unique nature and, of course, see the most famous volcano in Iceland - Eyjafjallajokull. After 2010, the flow of those wishing to observe this wonder of the world with their own eyes has increased markedly.

History reference

Iceland is located at the junction of two continental plates, the Eurasian and North American, and is considered the country with the largest number of geothermal sources, lava fields, ice and volcanoes. There are more than a hundred of them, and twenty-five are active. The most popular volcanoes among tourists are Laki and Hekla, they have almost a hundred craters and are a unique sight.

But in 2010, the whole world learned about another attraction of Iceland - the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Photos of lava erupting from under the glacier spread all over the world's news feeds, perhaps this event would not have had such popularity in the media if it were not for the problems with air travel that arose in most of Europe.

Eyyafyatlayokudl belongs to the stratovolcanoes, the cone of which is formed by layers of hardened lava and rock left there after numerous eruptions. Officially, this is not a volcano, but a glacier, the sixth largest on the island, it is located 125 kilometers from the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. The height of the peak is 1666 m, the area of ​​the volcanic crater is 3-4 km, until 2010 it was hidden under a thick layer of ice. The previous eruption of the Eyjafyatlayokudl volcano took place from 1821 to 1823, and for two hundred years it was considered dormant.

Preceding circumstances

Almost a year before the main events, the glacier was already showing signs of high activity. In 2009, at a depth of seven kilometers, scientists noticed seismological shocks of 1-2 points. They continued for several months, and even a shift of the cortex by 3 cm was recorded.

The activity of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano worried the authorities of the region, they took the necessary measures to resettle local residents, and the nearest airport was also closed. First of all, people were afraid of flooding, since the glacier could begin to melt under the influence of the earth's heat.

Scientists have long observed activity in this area, so the victims were avoided. In total, more than 800 people left the disaster area. After the research, the possibility of flooding was ruled out and some residents returned to their homes.

Chronicle of events

On March 20, 2010, the Eyyafyatlayokudl volcano erupted late in the evening. From the fault that appeared in the glacier, smoke and ash poured out, the first emissions were small and did not reach a height of more than one kilometer. After five days, the activity dropped significantly. The reason was that melted water poured into the vent and partially extinguished the hearth.

But on March 31, a new crack formed, and for several days lava flowed abundantly from two holes at once. As it turned out, this was just the beginning. On April 13, the Icelandic volcano Eyjafyatlayokudl once again shook from tremors, as a result of which a new crack appeared at a distance of 2 km, and a column of smoke rose to a height of eight kilometers. On April 15 and 16, this figure was already 15 km, and volcanic ash reached the stratosphere, from where substances are already spreading over long distances.

Shutdown of flights in Europe

The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull will go down in history in the 21st century thanks to the large-scale consequences of its eruption. Due to his activity, air traffic was suspended in dozens of countries. Companies suffered losses, thousands of passengers huddled in airport terminals and in the homes of caring people.

The events in Iceland have had a major impact on the revision of some of the laws and regulations governing air travel in such situations. Many companies said that a computer program that calculates the risks of flying in the ash spread zone is doubtful, and they also accused the heads of European countries of deliberately inflating the problem and helplessness in making important decisions.

Effects

In addition to economic damage, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland has caused serious damage to the environment. In the first three days, about 140 million cubic meters of dust were released into the atmosphere. During the eruption, together with particles of earth rocks, ash, a huge amount of suspended particles or aerosols are thrown into the air. The danger of such a substance is that it quickly spreads over a long distance and has a detrimental effect on the composition of the atmosphere, absorbing part of the solar radiation.

Although geophysicists and meteorologists did not support the general panic that flared up on the pages of some newspapers. According to scientists, the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull was not so powerful that emissions could somehow cause climate change, at most - affect the weather. So, long and thick clouds were observed many thousands of kilometers from the island, even in Russia.

Ash spread

The course of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption was recorded from space, and daily meteorological services made a forecast of the movement of the dust cloud. In mid-April 2010, ash covered more than half of Europe and some regions of Russia. Officially Rosgidromettsentr did not confirm the assumption that particles of dust and volcanic matter reached the territory of our country. True, eyewitnesses claim that the ashes could be easily detected using a sheet of paper placed on the windowsill.

The ejected dust was a fine-grained flying tephra, part of which settled near the vent and on the glacier, but the main mass rose into the air. However, experts assured the public that the gases released into the atmosphere do not pose a serious threat to humans.

Only almost a month after the start of the events, the media of all countries reported that the Eyyafyatlayokudl volcano had finally ceased its activity. The eruption of 2010 was remembered primarily not for its uniqueness, because this happens all the time on earth, but for the increased attention to this event in the news and newspapers.

The Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, whose photo appeared on the covers of many publications seven years ago, has a special history. Such a complex name comes from the combination of three words at once, denoting a mountain, a glacier and an island. And in fact, the name belongs to the glacier, under which there was a volcano for a long time. In connection with the events of 2010, linguists from different countries became interested in the origin and meaning of the toponym, trying to determine the exact meaning of the word.

After the hype around the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano subsided, the scientific world started talking about another possible problem that could lead to much greater consequences. We are talking about Mount Katla, which is located just 12 km from the epicenter of the underground explosion in 2010. Research by geophysicists confirms that each previous activity of Eyyafyatlayokudl preceded the eruption of the much more powerful and destructive Katla volcano. Therefore, scientists have suggested that the events of seven years ago may be the beginning of a more grandiose catastrophe in the future.

There are many more places in this region where nature can surprise you. So, a few hundred kilometers away is the only active volcano in Norway. Eyyafyatlayokudl and Berenberg (translated as "Bear Mountain") are similar in structure and physical data. The northernmost volcano in the world was also considered extinct for a long time, but in 1985 a strong eruption was recorded.

Reflection in culture

Today, the story of seven years ago on the distant island of Iceland has been somewhat forgotten, but at the same time this event made a strong impression on many, because it’s not every day you can see a real volcano erupting live on air. Society reacted differently to the event. Videos appeared on the Internet in which people tried to pronounce an unusual name, and the people composed jokes on this topic.

The National Geographic Channel made a documentary about the events of the spring of 2010, and some feature films are related to the Icelandic volcano, for example, the French film Passion Volcano and some episodes of the American film The Walter Mitty Story.

Perhaps the sweetest note in the craze for the Icelandic natural phenomenon was made by a native of this country, singer Elisa Geirsdottir Newman. She composed a provocative song about Eyjafyatlayokudl, which helps to learn how to pronounce the exotic name correctly.

Eyjafjallajökull is a volcano in Iceland, located under the glacier of the same name, the name of which is able to pronounce only 0.005 percent of the world's population. In 2010, the small northern country of Iceland decided to remind Europeans of its existence. And she did it in such a way that the message could not be ignored.

Excessive activity of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano and a powerful release of ash into the atmosphere led to the cancellation of several tens of thousands of flights. This eruption can rightfully be considered one of the most remarkable events of the past year.

For two hundred years now, Eyjafjallajökull has been considered sound asleep. Its previous eruption was recorded between 1821 and 1823. - in two years, the volcano caused enormous damage to the surrounding area. However, Icelanders are accustomed to such disasters. There are several active volcanoes on the island, which periodically remind of their existence. So the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull did not panic the local population, on the contrary, provoked a real tourist boom. People from all over the world came to admire the impressive spectacle.

In fact, the volcano that attracted so much attention from tourists to Iceland did not even have its own name. Previously, the Eyjafjallajökull glacier was known, located 125 km from Reykjavik and hiding a conical volcano underneath. For simplicity, it began to be called by the same name. Eyyafyadlayokyudl in translation into Russian means literally "glacier of the island mountains." The height of the peak is 1666 meters, and the diameter of the crater, which has been hiding under the ice for many years, is 4 km.

Naturally, scientists were monitoring Eyjafjallajökull, but could not predict the full scale of the upcoming eruption. Much more attention of scientists has always attracted a volcano located 12 km to the east - Katla. In the 20th century, he was noted for his special activity. Consequently, it was popular with tourists visiting the island.

All types of travel are available to lovers of the exotic in Iceland: auto, walking, as well as helicopter tours by air. Only from above can one fully appreciate the power of volcanoes. In addition to evidence of the fiery breath of the Earth, Iceland is famous for its rivers, waterfalls and geysers. Acquaintance with them is included in the mandatory tourist program. At the foot of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier is the village of Skougar and the country's most visited waterfall Skogafoss on the Skougau River. Famous tourist routes pass by it, leading to the Fimmvurduhauls pass between the Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull glaciers.

Photo of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland.