ChatterBank6 mins ago
Could This Threaten The Existence Of Iceland?
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Very scary news...800 earthquakes in a matter of hours...1,000s in several weeks.
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Iceland is a rare situation of the Mid-Atlantic spreading centre - a divergent plate boundary - which is present above sea level.
What that means, concerning the volcanoes of Iceland, is that they are a type of magma which is very mafic, very ‘basic’ in composition, and RARELY explosive. In other words, if you simply must have a volcano nearby, this is about the safest kind to have.
That does not make them actually SAFE, of course.
Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and geysers and hot springs, simply come with the territory, so to speak, of being part of the Mid Atlantic spreading centre. It is a very interesting place to be a geologist, because you can see - literally put your hands on - the North American plate and the Eurasian plate, and you can measure the movement (it is pretty slow, but not so slow that it can’t be observed and measured with fairly easy to use instruments).
Yes, Iceland has volcano plans, just like a country in hurricane-prone areas will have hurricane plans, and a city or region prone to wildfires will have a wildfire programme.
It would very rarely involve having to evacuate the entire country (which is, in any case, rather small) but certainly there are local evacuation plans in case of an eruption, or the imminent approach of a lava flow.
There is no realistic chance of the ‘destruction of the entire country’. Volcanic eruptions in Iceland typically lead to an enlargement of the land area of Iceland, or, in some cases, the addition of a new (though usually small) island nearby.
Huldufólk or hidden people are elves in Icelandic and Faroese folklore. They are supernatural beings that live in nature. They look and behave similarly to humans, but live in a parallel world. They can make themselves visible at will.
A few years ago, after a great deal of effort, developers managed to move a large rock that was in the way of the works.
What they didn't realise was it's the elves' sacred church. Pretty soon, construction workers started to call in sick; bulldozers wouldn't start; and the weather turned.
They put the rock back and everything was fine again.
Looks like someone has really hacked off the elves again. 😏
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