THE 1973 ELDFELL ERUPTION: ICELAND’S “POMPEII OF THE NORTH”

The 1973 Eldfell eruption: Iceland’s “Pompeii of the North” Fish Focus’ latest feature follows our trip to the Icelandic archipelago, Vestmannaeyjar.

At the end of our first day in Heimaey, we had some time to fill before dinner at Slippurinn, so decided to walk up to the top of Eldfell, Heimaey’s volcano.

As we got nearer the summit, the wind picked up and strong gusts were making an otherwise easy walk, slightly scary as the ridge at the top is narrow and the drop either side looked a long way
down. The view from the top was spectacular and well worth the near-death experience of being blown off the edge of an Icelandic volcano.

Image reproduced with the kind permission of Eldheimar Museum

Introduction

In the early hours of January 23, 1973, the residents of Heimaey, the only inhabited island of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, were shaken awake by one of the most unexpected and destructive volcanic eruptions in modern Icelandic history. A fissure opened just a few hundred metres from the edge of town, unleashing fire fountains of molten rock. Within hours, a new volcano, later named Eldfell (“Fire Mountain”), was born.

This eruption not only threatened lives and homes but also came close to erasing the island’s harbour, the community’s economic lifeline. The response, combining rapid evacuation and bold scientific intervention, remains one of the most dramatic examples of humans fighting back against volcanic forces.

Geological Setting

Iceland sits astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart. This rift creates an environment of frequent volcanic activity, as magma rises from the mantle to fill the gaps. The Vestmannaeyjar archipelago is a chain of volcanic islands formed by submarine eruptions along an active volcanic zone just south of the main island.

Heimaey itself is the product of earlier eruptions, including the creation of the island of Surtsey only ten years earlier (1963–1967). Scientists knew the region was volcanically active, but there were no warning signs that an eruption was imminent in January 1973.

The Night of the Eruption

At around 1:55 a.m., residents awoke to what they described as “daylight at night.” A fissure almost 2 kilometres long tore open across the eastern side of Heimaey, extending into farmland and toward the sea. Massive curtains of fire – lava fountains up to 150 metres high, lit the sky. Within hours, the eruption focused at a single vent, where a cinder cone rapidly grew. This new mountain, Eldfell, would eventually rise to 220 metres above sea level.

The eruption’s proximity to the town was extraordinary: the fissure had opened just 200 metres from the nearest houses.

Evacuation and Human Response

At the time, Heimaey was home to about 5,300 people. The eruption could easily have claimed hundreds of lives, but an extraordinary coincidence saved the population: due to stormy weather, almost the entire fishing fleet was in harbour that night. Using the boats, authorities evacuated nearly all inhabitants to mainland Iceland within a few hours.

Only one fatality occurred during the crisis, caused by a gas-related accident, a remarkably low toll given the scale of destruction.

The Fight to Save Heimaey

The eruption continued for weeks and lava flows began creeping toward the town itself. About 400 homes were destroyed, and many more suffered severe ash damage. Yet the most serious threat was the harbour. Heimaey’s economy depended almost entirely on fishing and if the narrow channel leading into the harbour were sealed by lava, the community could not survive.

In an unprecedented move, Icelandic authorities and volunteers began a massive campaign to cool the lava with seawater. High-capacity pumps, some flown in from the United States, were deployed. Seawater was sprayed directly onto advancing lava fronts and onto the surface of newly formed flows.

This was a risky but successful strategy. The cooled lava solidified into walls that slowed or redirected new flows. Over 6.8 billion litres of seawater were pumped in total. By the end, the harbour entrance was not only preserved, it was improved, as the new lava walls created better shelter from storms.

Duration and Geological Impact

The eruption lasted until July 3, 1973, almost six months. By then, Eldfell had created a new volcanic landscape, extending Heimaey’s area by about 2.2 square kilometres. The eruption released an estimated 0.25 cubic kilometres of lava and tephra, burying much of the eastern part of town under several metres of ash.

The cone itself is composed mainly of scoria (vesicular basaltic fragments) and layers of lava. Today it remains geologically active, with geothermal heat still detectable beneath its slopes.

Aftermath and Reconstruction

When the eruption ended, the population gradually returned. Rebuilding was difficult: about one-third of all houses were destroyed or heavily damaged. Ash clean-up took years, but in some cases, the hot volcanic deposits were turned to advantage. Residents tapped into geothermal heat for energy and used solidified lava as construction material.

The event became known as the “Pompeii of the North”, though unlike the Roman tragedy, Heimaey’s story is one of resilience and survival rather than catastrophe.

Legacy

The Eldfell eruption is remembered as:

A disaster: It destroyed homes, infrastructure and farmland and it displaced an entire population.

A triumph of ingenuity: The effort to cool and divert lava with seawater is still cited in volcanology as one of the few successful human interventions in a volcanic eruption.

A scientific milestone: The eruption offered volcanologists a rare chance to study an eruption occurring literally within a town.

Today, Heimaey’s Eldheimar Museum preserves excavated houses buried by ash, offering a powerful reminder of the night the island almost disappeared. Eldfell itself stands as both a natural monument and a symbol of human determination to adapt to Iceland’s volatile landscape.

We will be posting an article every day, covering this amazing trip and showcasing the Icelandic Seafood industry, cutting edge aquaculture, Icelandic heritage and the hospitality of the Icelandic people. You can read the whole publication here