My OperaHekla
Thursday, July 7, 2011 3:35:13 PM
Hekla is without doubt Iceland's most famous volcano and is the third most active volcano in Iceland with about 20 eruptions the last 1000 years, last time on 26 February 2000. The eruption in 2000 occurred with practically no forewarning. It is the only ridge-shape stratovolcano known in Iceland where eruptions occur repeatedly on the same fissure.
Rumours have it that Hekla is 'ready to erupt'. Hekla magmas are erupted from an 8 km deep chamber that contains two magma types, an andesite magma, and a rhyolitic magma. Common intermediate magma compositions are produced by mixing of the two magma types in the chamber prior to eruption.
In Icelandic Hekla is the word for a short hooded cloak which may relate to the frequent cloud cover on the summit. In the Middle Ages the volcano was known as the "Gateway to Hell“. In fact the Italian monk Julius Caesar Recuptus wrote in 1647 that Hekla was the entrance to hell left open by God as a warning for all sinners. The belief that Hekla was the gate to Hell persisted until the 1800s. There is still a legend that witches gather on Hekla for Easter.
Another known European gathering points for witches is Brocken, also known as Blocksberg, in the Harz Mountains in Germany. This 1142-meter peak is often shrouded in mist and clouds, lending it a mysterious atmosphere that has contributed to its legendary status as the home of witches.
According to Danish traditional folklore the midsummer bonfires (in the evening of 3 July) used to send witches on their broomsticks to either Blocksberg or Hekla (Hekkenfeldt).
I wonder if it is those witches that are now irritating the mountain.
In Danish:
In Norwegian:
Rumours have it that Hekla is 'ready to erupt'. Hekla magmas are erupted from an 8 km deep chamber that contains two magma types, an andesite magma, and a rhyolitic magma. Common intermediate magma compositions are produced by mixing of the two magma types in the chamber prior to eruption.
In Icelandic Hekla is the word for a short hooded cloak which may relate to the frequent cloud cover on the summit. In the Middle Ages the volcano was known as the "Gateway to Hell“. In fact the Italian monk Julius Caesar Recuptus wrote in 1647 that Hekla was the entrance to hell left open by God as a warning for all sinners. The belief that Hekla was the gate to Hell persisted until the 1800s. There is still a legend that witches gather on Hekla for Easter.
Another known European gathering points for witches is Brocken, also known as Blocksberg, in the Harz Mountains in Germany. This 1142-meter peak is often shrouded in mist and clouds, lending it a mysterious atmosphere that has contributed to its legendary status as the home of witches.
According to Danish traditional folklore the midsummer bonfires (in the evening of 3 July) used to send witches on their broomsticks to either Blocksberg or Hekla (Hekkenfeldt).
I wonder if it is those witches that are now irritating the mountain.
- http://volcanism.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/iceland-restless-hekla-ready-to-erupt/
- http://www.jonfr.com/volcano/?p=1098
- http://bigthink.com/ideas/39169?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm
- http://volcanism.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/iceland-restless-hekla-ready-to-erupt/
- http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110706/ap_on_sc/eu_iceland_volcano
- http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Icelands_Hekla_volcano_ready_to_erupt_experts_999.html
- http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-iceland-hekla-volcano.html
In Danish:
In Norwegian:
