Fires in western Iceland - related image preview

300 x 400
48 KB - JPEG

Fires in western Iceland - related image preview

337 x 301
98 KB - JPEG

Fires in western Iceland - related image preview

600 x 800
167 KB - JPEG

Fires in western Iceland - related image preview

1200 x 1600
411 KB - JPEG

Fires in western Iceland

A brush fire burns several farms in this image of western Iceland acquired on March 30, 2004. According to various news reports, the fires began when dry grasses ignited – the cause of which is currently unknown. The fire had consumed at least 50 square kilometers (19 square miles) and at least twelve farms at that time. Iceland is often called the “land of fire and ice”; however, generally the fire part refers to its high level of volcanic activity, not the frequency or intensity of its “wild” or “wildland” fires. This is due to the fact that Iceland sits atop the Mid-Atlantic ridge, where two tectonic plates (the American and African) are spreading apart at the rate of 2.54 centimeters (about an inch) per year. Over one-third of the island is active volcano or its direct impacts, such as lava fields. The island is also rife with hot springs; groundwater is heated by subterranean magma and percolates to the surface as steam, where it cools and pools at the surface. Ice, mostly in the form of glaciers, covers about 10% of the land surface currently. However, in the past, ice covered the entire island, and would do so again but for the heat from below.


Jeff Schmaltz

Published April 5, 2006
Data acquired March 28, 2006

Source:
Terra > MODIS
Collections:
MODIS Image of the Day
Visible Earth