8. A New Island for Iceland

Reykjavik, November 16, 1963

Today I have seen a new land on fire rising from the sea—a new creation making its mark on the map of the world.

It has been clear and fine in the south of Iceland and this was an unforgettable sight as the steam clouds from the submarine volcano close to the Westman Islands rose to 25 000 feet.

The new island is now 1 500 feet long and 130 feet above sea level where the depth is 60 fathoms. It is rising still and today it has been observed from ships and aircraft.

The south of Iceland, where the capital, Reykjavik, is situated, is always liable to earthquakes and eruptions. Today, from the coast about 50 miles from Reykjavik, I watched the column of steam, black then white, ever changing and rising. It reminded me of the column from an atomic bomb, though certainly more beautiful and much wilder. At the top the rays of the setting sun may be seen like a crown to the newborn island.

Thousands of people in cars, eager to see this wonder of Nature, are leaving the city of Reykjavik for the coast.

Many people said Iceland is getting much larger and they could not conceal their patriotic pride. Others said this would mean an increase in Iceland's territorial waters. The new island would now become the southerly part of Iceland.

On the Westman Islands everyone has been out watching it. Hardly any work is done. All are spellbound.

The Westman Islanders welcome their new neighbour. They hope the eruption will not touch their own town, carrying ash and lava: but they are optimistic. The children have been given a holiday from school to see a sight that will remain in their memories until they are old.

Scientists are also busy. Some think the island will disappear again. A coastguard has got to within 500 yards of the eruption. Observers aboard said that the island is made of pumice and lava. As it rises and the craters get above sea-level, the eruption gets more like a land-borne volcano.

Icelanders have already begun thinking about its name. Some want to name it after Olafur Thors, who handed in his resignation as Prime Minister on the day the eruption started.

Others want to name it after Saint Brandan, an Irish monk who was the first to see the ocean burning near Iceland in the fifth century, 300 years before the advent of the Vikings.

Icelandic and foreign ships have been warned not to approach too near this latest eruption as unexpected flood-waves might rise, and rock formations might endanger ships.

Many fishermen will want to know if the eruption will influence the fishing as this is the chief spawning-place south of Iceland. Time will show if it will harm the fishing industries of the Westman Islands or not, where hundreds of fishing boats are stationed. Trawlers of many foreign nations fish these areas, among them the British.