Having forgotten about the volcanic eruptions that occurred north of the town of Grindavík in recent months, I did not expect to be driving through the newest lava fields in southwestern Iceland on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
Driving Through the Newest Lava Fields in Iceland
After returning to Brimketill — this time, the lava rock pool was submerged by violent waves which crashed against the rocky cliffs and therefore could not be seen — I needed to return the rental car to Keflavik Airport. Instead of backtracking from the way we came on Highway 44 by going west on Nesvegur, we decided spontaneously to head east towards Highway 425 through the town of Grindavík to north on Highway 43.
When I first saw the orange construction road sign, I had wondered what was the problem. Highway 43 had at least two detours on it which allowed traffic to pass through the lava fields while reconstruction of the highway itself was ongoing. Electrical power lines were down. Vehicles were not allowed to stop at any time for any reason within the construction zones.
I then remembered the aforementioned volcanic eruptions, which have now occurred at least seven times this year and at least ten times in the last three years. I saw vast fields of black hardened lava covering the barren landscape that looked like it was from another world.
The latest eruption started on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 11:14 in the evening Greenwich Mean Time with little warning and created a fissure approximately three kilometers or 1.8 miles long. Fortunately, the activity is estimated to be considerably smaller than the most recent eruption that occurred in August.
Final Boarding Call
Residents of Grindavík have been evacuated, as the volcano erupted again just after I left Iceland — so I was not able to actually see a live volcanic eruption with lava spewing and flowing from it.
My thoughts are for the residents of Grindavík, as I hope that they and their belongings survive this latest eruption with minimal damage at the most…
All photographs ©2024 by Brian Cohen.
