The Place That Stopped a Volcano in Iceland

It is also home to the "World’s Loneliest House," which is not Bjork’s.

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I know you’ve seen a photo of this island. It’s all over the internet.

My friends at Atlas Obscura did a post on it in March, and as they pointed out, despite the rumors, this is not Bjork’s house. (That rumor isn’t so crazy though because the Icelandic prime minister did offer Bjork an island of the same name, which she refused, but also it wasn’t this island).

But what’s even crazier than this lonely, shareable house is what happened to this island chain in the 1970s. They stopped a massive volcano from destroying everything with water cannons.

But first, let’s clear up on this house to those who aren’t familiar. This is a hunting lodge on a small island called Elliðaey in southern Iceland within an archipelago called Vestmannaeyjar.

(I feel obligated to tell you what they’re hunting but you may not like it: puffins.)

Welcome to Elliðaey Island in Iceland

A Lonely House on a Lonely Island

This is the house on Elliðaey Island. Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons

No one lives in this lodge permanently, but it is habitable. YouTuber Ryan Trahan went there last year actually.

Getting there is treacherous. It’s also not the only lonely house out there either. There are other isolated cabins on nearby islands, too.

(You can watch Ryan’s visit to Elliðaey.)

A Volcano Named Eldfell on an Archipelago Called Vestmannaeyjar

The islands of Vestmannaeyjar. Wikimedia Commons

What’s more amazing about Vestmannaeyjar though is what happened in 1973. A volcano named Eldfell erupted on the largest and only permanently populated island here called Heimaey.

A giant crack opened up that split the island and spewed lava up to 500 feet in the air — which was all caught on camera. The eruption lasted for months, and the lava flowed in waves over 30 feet high on its way to engulfing pretty much everything.

Luckily, everyone was evacuated safely in the first few days. In a crazy fateful twist, all the boats were in the harbor when it happened because there was a storm before that prevented them from going out that day.

1973 Edfell Eruption Footage: Part 1 | Part 2

A Brilliant Idea With Seawater

The 1973 Eldfell eruption. YouTube

Unbelievably, an Icelandic physics professor was allowed to try out his theory of using seawater to stop the volcano, and it worked.

They brought boats and pumps that sprayed hundreds of gallons of water per minute into the flow. Workers built a network of pipes to spread it around and built up walls of solidified lava to steer it.

About 2 billion gallons were sprayed nonstop over four months.

Saving an Island From a Volcano

Heimaey after the 1973 Eldfell eruption. Wikimedia Commons

The effort successfully diverted the lava and saved the town’s harbor.

It is to this day the largest scale and most successful attempt to stop a volcano.

Take that Tommy Lee Jones (because … the movie “Volcano” … he was in it).

Other Attempts to Stop A Volcano (That Don’t Include Tommy Lee Jones)

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Even though the title pokes fun at Tommy Lee Jones’ least memorable movie, it’s worth noting that “Volcano” actually ends with a fleet of firetrucks and helicopters hosing down a lava river that’s overtaking Wilshire Blvd. Surprise: They save the city!

Actually, “Volcano” was based on a true story (sort of, kind of, in that movie sort of way), but it wasn’t the story of Iceland’s Eldfell. It was actually a different volcanic eruption — Mexico’s Parícutin — which made me very curious about any other places that have tried large-scale coordinated attempts to stop or divert lava flows.

Parícutin, Mexico

Ruins of San Juan Parangaricutiro church after Parícutin volcano in Mexico

Church ruins of San Juan Parangaricutiro after the Parícutin volcano eruption in Mexico. Arturo Peña Romano Medina / Getty Images

It turns out there wasn’t really a large-scale attempt to divert the lava here.

Apparently, the movie was (very loosely) based on the effects Parícutin’s nine-year eruption during the 1950s, which slowly but surely swallowed up whole towns as residents watched.

It is considered the first full life cycle of an active volcano that modern scientists were able to witness.

Mount Etna, Italy

Mount Etna volcano in Sicily and ruins of ancient amphitheater in Taormina

Mount Etna volcano in Sicily seen through the ruins of an ancient amphitheater in Taormina. Stefan_Alfonso / Getty Images

Mount Etna in Sicily is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It’s been erupting on and off for millennia (literally, the Romans talked about it plenty).

During a 1983 eruption, engineers tried and failed to plant explosives in order to reroute the flow. Apparently, they dug tubes to place charges, but the lava heated those tubes so fast that they would’ve ignited the charges well before they were placed in their positions.

In 1991, they tried again and this time succeeded. But it took a few tries. First, bulldozers built big piles of earthen barriers, but the lava rolled right through them. Then, the U.S. Army dropped concrete blocks from helicopters, but the lava consumed them (amazingly, lava is more dense than concrete so it’s not a great option).

Finally, in 1992, a “heroic dump truck driver” leveled a path beside the flow, which was now in a much more dangerous “lava tube,” and engineers placed 7.7 tons of explosives beside it (using lessons from 1983, they knew right where to put them). Alternative channels were also dug to help guide it away from the nearest town.

The May 1992 massive explosion cratered the lava tube, and successfully diverted the majority of the flow away from town. Coincidentally (or not?), the eruption began to subside shortly thereafter, which is why most consider the operation at Edlfell to be more impressive (though no less heroic).

Kilauea and Mauna Loa, Hawaii

This webcam image provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, looking east from the west rim of the summit caldera. Hawaii’s Kilauea began erupting inside its summit crater in January 2023, the U.S. Geological Survey said, less than one month after the volcano and its larger neighbor Mauna Loa stopped releasing lava. U.S. Geological Survey / AP Photo

Lava diversion has been attempted in Hawaii for decades. Most of it has been relatively unsuccessful, but learnings from the many Hawaiian operations have laid the foundation for much of what we know today about lava diversion.

In 1935, the U.S. Army flew 10 biplanes over an eruption and dropped 600-pound bombs. It didn’t work well. In fact, a hiker found two of these bombs lying in plain sight — unexploded — in 2020.

The Army tried again in 1942 when light from an eruption was deemed a national security threat during World War 2. That also didn’t produce the desired result.

During eruptions in the 1960s, there was also a futile attempt to build up rock walls. The politics of lava diversion is a bit complicated in Hawaii. Many locals do not like the idea of manipulating Mother Nature’s intended path.

But it’s also one of the most densely populated places to sit directly on an active volcanic zone.

Cumbre Vieja, Spain

Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in Spain. j_renArt / Getty Images

Most recently, officials in the Canary Islands dispatched heavy equipment to flatten a path for a 2021 eruption on La Palma island.

The path was supposed to give the lava a more efficient route to the ocean, avoiding a nearby town. Unfortunately, the lava didn’t take the hint, and the neighborhood of Todoque was destroyed.

“We had to at least try,” said a firefighter.

The No. 1 Question Asked: Can You Really Hunt Puffins?

Map of Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. Wikimedia Commons

Here’s the thing. This story wasn’t about puffins. It was about a lonely hunting lodge and historic volcano. But I knew the second I found out what the “hunting” part of this hunting lodge was that it would probably cause some double takes.

It is now, in fact, the number one comment on socials. So let’s get into it. What’s the deal with puffin hunting?

Puffins Are a Traditional Food Source in Scandinavia

Puffins birds in Iceland. bzzup / Getty Images

Like other Arctic sea birds, they were abundant and nutrient-rich. They’ve since become less abundant, and the practice of hunting and eating them has become less common.

It is no longer legal to hunt puffins in most Nordic countries (like Norway, Sweden, and Finland), but it remains legal in Iceland and, I believe, the Faroe Islands (autonomous islands near Iceland that are part of the Kingdom of Denmark).

Icelanders Do Still Hunt and Eat Puffins

A flying puffin. Hillebrand Breuker / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Not all the time. It’s more of a couple-times-a-year cultural thing for special events or family gatherings.

It’s also a catchy tourist attraction. Restaurants in Reykjavik offer samples, obviously.

(You can watch Gordon Ramsay try Puffins).

For Traditional Icelanders, Puffin Hunting Is a Special Ritual Passed Down Through Generations.

This is a traditional way to get food in Iceland. carstenbrandt / Getty Images

The locals of Vestmannaeyjar, in particular, are known for their puffin customs (though I didn’t mention it in the video, Vestmannaeyjar is home to the world’s largest puffin colony).

The standard hunting technique relies on a rope and a net. Men repel down cliff sides, where the puffins roost, and swing giant nets called háfur to catch the birds amidst the windy flurry that their disturbances cause.

The Traditional Summer Puffin Hunting Season Is Called Lundaveiðar.

Puffins nesting on grassy bluffs of Heimaey Island in the Westmann Islands. mlharing / Getty Images

It used to net (pun intended) thousands of birds per hunter, but these days it’s limited to a couple hundred total in Vestmannaeyjar.

Instead, some locals leave the islands and head to the far north of Iceland, where hunting is less limited (as of now).

There’s Also an Annual Festival on Heimaey called Thjóðhátíð.

Houses and buildings on Heimaey Island of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago in Iceland. photosaint / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Go ahead, and try to pronounce it without Google. It’s one of the largest festivals in the country, with music, bonfires, and … puffin.

In August and September, Heimaey Residents Throw Baby Puffins Into the Ocean.

Map of Iceland landmarks. coffeee-in / Getty Images/iStockphoto

This is the other puffin-related event there. It’s not as bad as it sounds.

The puffin hatchlings are supposed to head to sea following the moonlight, but they get confused by the lights from town.

So residents spend a few weeks in late summer picking up lost baby puffins and throwing them back to the sea.

A Dog Breed Called the Norwegian Lundehund

A Norwegian Lundehund. Wirestock / Getty Images

Also, because I came across a fun new fact, I obviously needed to share. There’s a specific dog breed called the Norwegian Lundehund.

That was bred specifically to assist on puffin hunts. So if the final round in “Jeopardy” is ever: A foxhound is to foxes as a Lundehund is to what? You know the answer.

It’s puffins.