Volcanic Action off Iceland

The three photographs below came from Margaret Bell and were taken from the Caronia, probably on the 1964 North Cape Cruise. When she first mentioned these, I was expecting to receive pictures of Strómboli, however, when they arrived, I became quite sure that it wasn't.

Surtsey Emerges in Dramatic Volcanic Display

Update 20 November 2004

Having posted these on the Mystery Photographs page, I was contacted by Alan Lynch, an AB and Bosun's Mate on board the Caronia from 1954 to 1964.

Update 30 September 2025

Alec Faulkner, from Australia, was a quartermaster on this North Cape Cruise and confirms Alan's account.

By the time these pictures were taken, on Caronia's 1964 North Cape Cruise, the World's youngest island had grown to about 2 miles in diameter and about 600 feet high.

The protective layer of a lava eruption from a second vent began on 04 April 1964, with a fantastic display of glowing geysers and intense steam, with an estimated flow rate of 180,000 tons of lava an hour!

Situated 75 miles South-East of Reykjavik, Surtsey first emerged from the sea on the morning of 14 November 1963. When it first bubbled up billowing smoke and ash, the fearful inhabitants of Akureyri, the chief town of the Westman Islands, contemplated evacuating to the mainland of Iceland.

At first it was no more than puffs of acrid sulphurous smoke rising inexplicably from the sea. However, by mid-afternoon it was clear by the action of the surrounding waves that something pushing upward toward the surface was solid and massive! By the next night, Surtsey had become a narrow 30 foot high ridge.

Because of its rapid and extremely violent volcanic growth, the island was named after Surtur by the Icelandic Naming authorities, much to the consternation of the Westman Islanders. Surtur was a giant of Icelandic legend, who brought fire from the South and battled with Freyr, the god of fertility.

The volcanic vent was called Surtur and the island Surtsey, or Surtur's island.