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Iceland: Fire
and Ice Home
Fire Meets Ice | Land
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FIRE
MEETS ICE
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Iceland's animals endure
harsh winters.
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Legend says that a magician once swam to Iceland in the form of a
whale, hoping to bring the isolated North Atlantic island under his
spell. But when he reached Iceland's rocky shores, he abandoned his
dream upon discovering that it was already inhabited by spirits who
fiercely defended their lush green meadows, frigid ice sheets, and
soaring volcanic mountains.
In ICELAND: FIRE AND ICE, NATURE takes an inspiring
look at the real spirits -- both human and wild -- that thrive in
a challenging land where fire literally meets ice. ICELAND: FIRE AND
ICE offers a stunning portrait of this island of extremes, where some
of Europe's biggest glaciers cozy up to some of the continent's hottest
volcanic springs. And it profiles many of the remarkable animals,
such as birds from the lethal gyrfalcon to the comic, clown-billed
puffin, that bring vibrant life to an occasionally desolate landscape.
To Iceland's earliest human settlers, who arrived from Europe sometime
in the 9th century, the island's ruggedly beautiful lava flows, smoking
volcanic vents, and roaring waterfalls seemed inconceivably ancient.
Some imagined them to be the sculpted remains of some timeless battlefield,
where their immortal gods had waged a merciless war. In fact, however,
Iceland is a mere child in geologic terms. It was formed by volcanic
eruptions just 20 million years ago, as magma poured from the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge, a tear in the seabed that marks the boundary between the North
American and European continental plates. As the liquid rock oozed
out of the tear and cooled, it produced the island we see today: a
300-mile-long, 200-mile-wide oval landmass that sits between Greenland
and the European coast in the icy seas near the Arctic Circle.
But Iceland's construction is far from over. Today, it boasts more
than two dozen active volcanoes that regularly erupt and add more
lava and ash to the landscape. Indeed, Icelanders experience an eruption
twice a decade on average, with the scenic Mount Hekla being one of
the island's most energetic volcanoes in recent years. While eruptions
often consist of little more than a spit of smoke and a cough of ash,
sometimes they can mean spectacular and dangerous geologic fireworks.
In the late 18th century, for instance, Iceland's Mount Lakagigar
produced the world's largest lava flow -- more than 3 cubic miles
of molten rock. Thousands of farm animals were gassed to death by
the mountain's poisonous fumes, and the eruption produced so much
ash that the sky was dark for weeks. The eruption wreaked havoc on
the island's food supply, causing a famine; more than a third of Iceland's
people died.
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In Iceland, flame and
ice live side by side.
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Other memorable volcanic disasters aren't so old. In 1973, the
eruption of the Eldfell volcano threatened to entomb the nearby
fishing village of Heimaey in magma. Boiling rivers of lava engulfed
a third of the town before desperate islanders mounted a bold and
creative defense against the mountain. Using hastily installed fire
hoses and water pumps, the villagers sprayed the encroaching lava
with streams of frigid seawater, forcing it to crystallize. The
resulting rock dam diverted the lava rivers away from the town and
into the sea. Ironically, by the time the eruption was over, the
lava had formed a new spit of land that offered improved protection
to the town's harbor.
Vulcanism is not only one of Iceland's hallmarks; it is also responsible
for the island nation's best-known contribution to other languages.
The word "geyser" comes from a single celebrated spring
in southwestern Iceland that every so often flings its waters, heated
to boiling by the volcanic magma below, several hundred feet into
the air. Today, volcanic fountains all over the world carry the
name given to this Icelandic wonder, which has become less active
in recent years. But many other hot springs continue to provide
Icelanders with an important source of energy -- and natural saunas
perfect for a winter warm-up.
Volcanic fire isn't the only elemental force shaping the island.
Ice, too, plays a key role. Less than 8,000 years ago, geologists
believe the entire island was buried beneath miles of ice. As these
massive glaciers melted away, they carved Iceland's remarkable steep-sided
valleys and fjords, long, narrow glacial valleys that have been
flooded by the sea. Today, ice continues to carve and smooth the
land. About ten percent of the island is covered by glaciers. The
largest, called Vatnajokull, is already more than a half-mile deep
and covers about 3,000 square miles. It is Europe's largest glacier.
Indeed, all of the continent's other ice caps would comfortably
fit within Vatnajokull. 
But the massive ice sheet isn't Iceland's only record-breaker. The
island also boasts the continent's largest and most powerful waterfall:
the Gullfoss, or "Golden Falls." Once, government planners
had considered the 105-foot cascade a perfect place to build a hydroelectric
dam. But folklore says a young woman threatened to throw herself
over the falls if plans to destroy the natural monument went forward.
Her threat worked, and today the site is protected by a national
park. So, on a sunny day, the Gullfoss continues to sparkle with
countless rainbows, drawing thousands of onlookers each year to
view the spectacle. Like the early settlers before them, they can
only marvel at the natural beauty crafted by the unlikely union
of fire and ice.
Iceland: Fire and Ice
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