conceive of relaxing in Iceland ’s Blue Lagoon , floating in its steaming celeste waters with a mud masquerade party rejuvenating your typeface . Now imagine being severalise to evacuate the resort and spa immediately . Why ? Well , a moving ridge of lava is slowly roll towards the democratic tourist destination .
On the even of November 20 , the Icelandic Meteorological Office registered a series of earthquakes on Iceland ’s Reykjanes Peninsula announcing the bam of a volcanic fissure — where lava spill out from a crack , as pit to a blowhole — nearStóra Skógfell mound , about 31 miles ( 50 kilometer ) southwest of the capital Reykjavik . The glow flow of lava rolled east and west from the chap , according to a NASA Earth Observatorystatement . gratefully , it avoided the nearby town of Grindavík but overtake major route , as well as Blue Lagoon ’s parking lot and small service building .
piece of Grindavík were nevertheless evacuated , grant to theIcelandic National Broadcasting Service , as was the Blue Lagoon refuge and health club . Despite billows of mostly sulphur dioxide gasolene surface from the lava , the consequence did not interrupt air travel in the area , even though the land site is close to Keflavík Airport . In fact , some plane passengers were thrilled to view the fiery spectacle from the clouds .
Lava from the eruption on November 20. This image emphasizes the lava’s heat signature.© NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and VIIRS day-night band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership.
Once in a lifetime import as a passenger plane fly front by an erupting Volcano in#Icelandlast night 🌋 pic.twitter.com/g6XUxNt2aj
— Latest in space ( @latestinspace)November 22 , 2024
This tardy eructation is theseventh in a seriesthat beganlast December , and the ten percent in the Reykjanes Peninsula ’s relatively new volcanic phase angle starting in March 2021 , accord to the programme service . Before 2021 , the Reykjanes volcanic system lay inactive forabout 800 years . Now , the peninsula is experience anew geologic era .
An annotated view of the lava flow, showing the location of Blue Lagoon. © NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and VIIRS day-night band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership.
“ This seems to be in a interchangeable area as it has been recently , ” Thorgils Jónsson , a news reporter for the broadcasting service , reportedon the day of the bang in reference to preceding volcanic body process in the area . He enunciate that the fissure seemed to be spreading Union . “ Now , as I stand here , I can see the fissure creep northward . ”
Lava slowly creeps towards the police gaffer of Suðurnes , Iceland , during interview.pic.twitter.com/vsJVjbkTh1
— Fréttastofa RÚV ( @RUVfrettir)November 22 , 2024
A view of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, taken in 2011. © Peter Collins/Flickr
Iceland is no stranger to volcano . In fact , as a volcanic island shaped by the magma rising out of the mid - ocean ridge it sit on , the nation owes its very existence to them . On average , Iceland experiences a volcanic eruption every five age , though since 2021 the average has been snug toonce a year .
This has n’t dissuade many visitors , however , with Iceland come out as a top tourism address and showcasing an impressiverecoveryafter the covid-19 pandemic . Even one of the country ’s most devastating bam — Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 — served as the basis of a wildly successfulcampaignlaunched by the Icelandic government to promote tourism .
Blue Lagoon resort will beclosedthrough November 29 , and while the tourists whose spa retreat was cut short must certainly be arse around , they might return in the future tense to find that the internet site of the volcanic eruption has become a bully tourist attraction than the geothermic spa itself .
blue lagoonicelandlava flowsnatural disasters
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