how to visit surtsey island

Surtsey Island is on the UNESCO Heritage List

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The volcanic island of Surtsey rose from the sea 33 km south of Iceland on November 14, 1963. It is now a nature reserve. It is named after the giant Surt, who according to Norse mythology sets the world on fire with his flame sword when Ragnarok occurs.

On November 14, 1963, a crew aboard a trawler sailing near Iceland spotted a column of smoke rising from the sea surface. A new island was being born. The new island was later named Surtsey. What they found was an island in the process of being born. Explosive volcanic eruptions originating from below the sea surface, belching black columns of ash. The eruption continued for several years, and in 1965 ash had blocked sea water from the crater area. Lava flows became prominent, forming a hard cap of solid rocks over the lower slopes of the new island. This prevented the waves from washing away the island. The eruption ultimately lasted three-and-a-half years, ending in June 1967.

Surtsey today

Today, wind and wave erosion that eats away at Surtsey steadily. The first spring after the eruption seeds and other plant parts were found washed up on the newly formed shore.  In 1965, it was declared a nature reserve for the study of ecological succession, that is, how plants, insects, birds, seals, and other forms of life have since established themselves on the island over time. Surtsey became a member of Unesco World Heritage List in 2008.

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Coordinates

• Lattitude: 63.302289
• Longitude: -20.601073

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Surtsey Island

Surtsey, on the UNESCO World Heritage list, from July 7, 2008

Surtsey, Iceland’s youngest volcanic island, has been added to the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage list following the World Heritage Committee held in Quebec City on July 7, 2008. "Surtur comes from the South... the hot stars down from Heaven are whirled. Fierce grows the steam and the life-feeding flame, until fire leaps high about Heaven itself." - From the Icelandic poem Völuspá, ca. 950 A.D. Surtsey is not only one of the world's newest islands, but the most filmed and researched and one of the most restricted. Ever since the eruption in 1963 which heaved it up out of the waters 18km (11 miles) southwest of Heimaey, its progress has been monitored. This has been giving scientists a fascinating insight into how a new island evolves, how flora and fauna develop, and so on. Because of this very few people are now allowed to visit the island, and special permits are only granted for scientific research. On the 14th of November, 1963 Icelandic seamen, that were fishing about 20 km southwest of Heimaey ( Vestmannaeyjar ) observed the beginnings of an undersea eruption that originated at a 130 meters depth. When the eruption first occurred, columns of ash were sent almost 9,146m (30,000 ft) into the sky and could be seen on clear days as far away as Reykjavík. An island eventually rose to a height of 169 meters above sea level that had an area of 2,5km². This island was named Surtsey for Surtur, the fire possessing giant of Norse mythology who would set fire to the earth at the Last Judgment. Because of pounding seas, there was a considerable amount of early erosion, but the island core quickly solidified as rock and is now holding its own while scientists watch everything. For three and a half years Surtsey rumbled and lava flowed. Long before the eruption stopped the island was proclaimed a nature preserve and all travel there was restricted to scientists that used this unique opportunity to study the gradual development of life on a sterile landmass. The first living found in the ash deposits close to shore. In May of the same year, a fly was found on the island. Seagulls visited the tidewaters furthest from the crater. The first vascular plant to flower along the shore was the sea rocket, observed in 1965. By 1987, twenty-five species of higher plants (including tomatoes!!) had been observed, transported there by seed in the sea currents, some from a nearby island, others from the southern Icelandic coast 40 kilometers off. Other species of plants have been carried there by the winds or birds from Europe. Surtsey is a favorite resting place for migratory birds during seasonal flights to and from Iceland and Europe. They visit there yearly by the thousands. Seals also visit the island and relax on its beaches. Today five species of birds nest on Surtsey: the Herring Gull, the Black-Backed Gull, the Black Guillemot, The Kittiwake, and Fulmar which was the first species to nest there and hatch its young on the warm lava in 1970. BBC and David Attenborough have produced acclaimed television programs from this amazing little island. 

• N63° 18' 14.005" W20° 36' 16.873"
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• Postal code: 900

Take advantage of the search to browse through the World Heritage Centre information.

Outstanding Universal Value

Surtsey is a new island formed by volcanic eruptions in 1963-67. It has been legally protected from its birth and provides the world with a pristine natural laboratory. Free from human interference, Surtsey has produced long-term information on the colonisation process of new land by plant and animal life.

Criterion (ix): Ongoing biological and ecological processes: Surtsey was born as a new volcanic island in 1963-67 and since that time has played a major role in studies of succession and colonisation. It has been the site of one of the few long term studies worldwide on primary succession, providing a unique scientific record of the process of colonisation of land by plants, animals and marine organisms. Not only is it geographically isolated, but it has been legally protected from its birth, providing the world with a pristine natural laboratory, free from human interference. Above all, because of its continuing protection, Surtsey will continue to provide invaluable data on biological colonisation long into the future.

The property includes the whole island and an adequate surrounding marine area, and thus all the areas that are essential for the long term conservation of the ecological processes on Surtsey. There is also a relatively small but functional marine buffer zone that is not part of the inscribed property. It is noted that part of the evolution of Surtsey is the process of coastal erosion which has already halved the area of the island and over time is predicted to remove another two thirds leaving only the most resistant core.

Protection and management requirements

Surtsey is a highly controlled, isolated environment and so threats are very limited. The purpose of strictly prohibiting visits to Surtsey is to ensure that colonisation by plants and animals, biotic succession and the shaping of geological formations will be as natural as possible and that human disruption will be minimised. It is prohibited to go ashore or dive by the island, to disturb the natural features, introduce organisms, minerals and soils or leave waste on the island. Nearby construction is also strictly controlled. The most significant management issue will be to retain the level of control and protection from human influence that has characterised the protective history of Surtsey. It is noted that, as an island ecosystem, there is the potential for human disturbance and pollution from a very wide area. Contingency planning, for example for oil spills, is required for the property and its wider surroundings. Given the lack of access a creative and positive approach to presenting the property will be required to ensure that visitors are able to appreciate, but not disturb, its values.

• Facebook page of the Environment Agency of Iceland
• Facebook page of Nature conservation areas in Iceland
• Surtsey (in Icelandic only)
• Protectedplanet.net

Surtsey Travel Guide

Surtsey is a volcanic island, part of the Westman Islands and formed by an underwater volcanic eruption in 1963.  

Explore a wide range of  tours of the Westman Islands .

Surtsey was declared a nature reserve in 1965 and in 2008 UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site. It is considered a classic site for the study of biological colonisation. Only a few scientists are allowed on the island but one can view it from the air. Around 90 bird species nest on the island.

Popular Tours to Surtsey

Enchanting 5-hour bike tour of the westman islands, thrilling 9-hour vestmannaeyjar and puffins guided tour from reykjavik, magnificent 10-hour private tour to the westman islands from reykjavik, attractions nearby.

Elephant Rock

Thridrangar Lighthouse

Herjolfstown Museum

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Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands)

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World Heritage Site

For world heritage travellers.

Surtsey is a recently born volcanic island, that provides a unique scientific record of the process of colonisation of land by plants, animals and marine organisms.

It was formed in a volcanic eruption in the sea which reached the surface on 14 November 1963. The eruption may have started a few days earlier and lasted until 5 June 1967. Since then it has been a protected natural area (free from any human interference) and a pristine natural laboratory.

Community Perspective : A visit – always limited to the surrounding waters as the island is a no-go zone - will be expensive due to the isolated location and lack of demand from the general public. It can be done as part of a longer cruise (as described by Solivagant ) or with a privately chartered boat from Heimaey in the Westman Islands (as first discovered by Michael , an approach that has been proven successful several times after). A sightseeing flight sometimes also is a possible alternative. You will see a relatively low island with cinder cones, loosely-arranged lava rocks and some vegetation. In the surrounding waters, you may see seals or even a pod of orcas .

Map of Surtsey

Community reviews.

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4.00 Malta - 15-Feb-23 -

I visited this WHS in 2022 and special thanks go to Nan who not only took care of booking our zodiac-style trip around Surtsey but also managed to include 2 walk-ins to further decrease the overall costs of our truly unforgettable boat trip. This was certainly the highlight of my trip in Iceland and was the main drawing factor that convinced me to finally book my trip to Iceland's "summer", and it certainly didn't disappoint.

The boat trips organised by SACA require a leeway of at least a week if you want to absolutely be sure not to miss out due to bad weather or sea conditions. For that reason I had planned to drive along the ringroad from Reykjavik in an anticlockwise direction if things were to work out as planned (and luckily this was this case) or in a clockwise direction and leaving Surtsey for last. This meant that I only kept online bookings for accomodation with free cancellation at least 24-48 hrs before which is very hard in Iceland's peak season, even if you book well in advance and eventually I could not find any hotel room available for the night after the boat trip. The night before our boat trip I slept in a B&B close to the gravel road leading the turf church of Keldur. Very early in the morning I drove to the ferry departure point of Landeyjahofn were I parked my car for free and bought my return passenger tickets to Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago made up of 15 islands built up in submarine eruptions. Make sure to go early, especially if you intend to go by car, as it can get very busy, although mostly in the afternoon.

The ferry ride to Heimaey doesn't take long and upon arrival, SACA's boat are usually berthed just a few metres away. Heimeay is home to eight million puffins every summer and many more millions of birds migrate there for breeding and feeding. At first the SACA boat trip was more of a pleasure ride around the several sea stacks, sea arches, coves and grottoes of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, sometimes at full speed. For those who are not very used to boat trips, it is advisable to take a sea sickness pill and stay at the back of the boat for a less bumpy ride. From my previous experiences with boat trips, I stayed in front as it is the best place just in case you want to avoid seeing others throw up. Make sure to bring warm clothes, even though SACA provides comfortable overalls, and waterproof protection for your camera as you'll get wet with sea spray and wave splashes even on a sunny day. We managed to spot harbour seals and grey seals in the sea or resting on the seaweed covered rocks as well as countless sea birds, mostly puffins, gannets, razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes, etc.

When we approached Surtsey, we were able to see some vegetation and birds on the island but the rest is totally black and brown volcanic remains, apart from a reddish-rusty vein of volcanic rock in the higher cliffside of the island. Surtsey formed by a submarine eruption which started on 14 November 1963 and lasted around four years, one of the longest in Icelandic history. Our skipper was one of the first to set foot on the island and it was exciting to listen to him recall his experience. Nowadays only a few scientists are allowed to set foot on the island and there is a small building at the highest point of the island (155 metres above sea level) for their perusal and research. Surtsey was intensively studied by volcanologists during its eruption, and afterwards mostlu by botanists and other biologists as life forms gradually colonised the originally barren island. The undersea vents that produced Surtsey are part of the Vestmannaeyjar submarine volcanic system, which is also part of the fissure of the sea floor called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The marine reserve area just around the volcanic island is also part of the core area of this WHS and both Nan and I can both claim (perhaps a bit ashamedly) that we actually made contact with the WH core area to pick up Nan's cap which flew away as we were going round the island by boat.

Perhaps it was meant to be or we were extremely lucky or a bit of bit, as just after Nan got his cap back on board, our amazement towards Surtsey which was just in front of us, immediately shifted towards what looked like 6-8 long piles bobbing on the ocean's surface. Surely, it wasn't a comic mirage of Icelandic pile dwelling remains at such depths. Instead they were the massive dorsal fins of a pod of orca killer whales with their young feeding and resting at the surface. It was a really unexpected and special moment during an already unforgettable adventure - the cherry on the cake. On the way back we cruised by some other islands and sea stacks, also viewing a huge rock face with basaltic columns which really looks like a huge elephant (frequently seen on Instagram) and also a cheesy tourist moment inside a huge grotto with the most popular Titanic soundtrack. During this cheesy moment, I received a weather update notification that at the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon it was going to be a clear and sunny afternoon, so upon arrival back at the harbour and a quick group photo, I rushed to make it on the ferry back to Landeyjahofn and drove straight on, only to backtrack a bit the following days (not having found a hotel for the night, I actually slept in my rental car under the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon bridge gazing at the different shapes and sizes of ice heading towards Diamond Beach). This was definitely a long day but one of my favourites out of all my travels.

4.00 Germany - 16-Aug-22 -

Boat trips are always ... a huge annoyance for a world heritage traveller. They are the most fickle of sites you can visit as they require preplanning up front, plenty of money and good weather on the day in question which you really can't control for.

Surtsey is no exception. Only the amount of money you need to bring (>1kEUR) feels prohibitively expensive for the individual traveller. So we partnered up. Philipp and I had been eyeing the trip for a while. Clyde decided to join, too, and so we ended up doing a mini meetup in summer 2022 on Iceland.

We boarded the boat to Surtsey in Heimaey. The boat then took us out to the Atlantic along the Vestmannaeyjar islands chain with plenty of stunning rock formations, caves and birds to see. None of the islands are inhabited, but most have a hunter's lodge on them plus a rope to climb up the really steep cliffs.

The furthest island in the chain is Surtsey. When the island comes into view you clearly see the difference to the other islands: it's made from volcanic ash, not from rocks. We went around once. In the process, we lucked out as a whole family of Orcas showed up in the core zone (which encompasses the surrounding waters).

I am not sure what the proper rating for the site is. The experience was stunning. And I understand the importance of the site. On the other hand, I also understand if people feel this is but a volcano in the sea and that e.g. the Eolian Islands are nicer examples.

In any case, a stopover in Heimaey should feature in any visit to Iceland. From the top of Eldfell, another volcano, you can see Surtsey on the horizon.

Getting There

The boat tours leave from Vestmannaeyjabær on Heimaey, the largest of the Vestmannaeyjar islands. They need to be prearranged. On the same day, you can only book tours of Heimaey island. Like Els, Svein and Randy, we used SACA.

The total rent for the boat was 1.200 EUR. I have to admit, that's a lot of money, but by aligning we split the cost with multiple parties. In addition, we managed to sell two of our remaining seats to an American couple at the harbour. They thought I was working for SACA as I was all dressed up in protective gear. I assume if you arrive one day prior, you may be able to find more takers in your hotel, but no guarantees.

To get to Heimaey, you have to take a ferry from Landeyjahöfn on the main island. There is little point in taking your car across; on the island everything can be done by walking. In Landeyjahöfn, there is a free parking lot. The crowds on the boat vary greatly. We took the 20:45 ferry to the island and were all alone. The 17:00h return ferry the next day was really crowded. Essentially, the day trippers from Reykjavik make the difference (going at 10:00h returning at 17:00h).

I would recommend staying overnight at Heimaey island. It's way nicer than Reykjavik. But if you must, you can easily arrive for the first ferry at 08:00 and take a 09:00 tour.

While You Are There

Heimaey and the Vestmannaeyjar islands are nice. The tour to Surtsey includes a tour around all islands of the scenic island chain.

In Heimaey, there is a nice Brothers beer bar if you don't mind paying Icelandic beer prices. After our boat trip, we hiked up to Eldfell. From the mountain top, you can see Surtsey. As last order of business, we spent the rest of the time at the local swimming pool.

There is also a volcanic museum (Eldheimar), the Sæheimar Aquarium, and a stave church gifted by Norway to explore.

Belgium - 07-Jul-22 -

Surtsey is sometimes called the newest place on earth since it only rose up out of the sea in 1963.

As mentioned below, the island is off limits to tourists and only a handful of scientists are allowed to stay there, which makes it very hard to visit Surtsey. Nevertheless, we gave it a try starting with the tips provided in other reviews, i.e. we contacted SACA to sail to Surtsey in a small Rib boat.

The people at SACA were very helpful, answered all of our questions and even provided us with an overview of the route. However, the price was above our budget/what we wanted to spend so we asked SACA if there were other interested parties willing to share a boat and the cost. There was indeed a fellow WHS enthousiast wanting to go to Surtsey but unfortunately our travel dates did not match.

So we had another look online to see if other options were available and this lead us to air company Atlantsflug (www.flightseeing.is). The price offer we received was more or less the same as the one we received from SACA, so also over our budget.

With only three days left in Iceland and back on the south coast we contacted Atlantsflug again to check if we could share a flight in the coming days, but this was not the case. However, they provided us with the phone number of a private pilot (Gunnar, +354 8986124, [email protected]) flying from Bakki airport (close to the ferry port to the Westman islands) who might take on private flights.

We contacted Gunnar who immediately confirmed that a flight to Surtsey would be possible under the condition that the weather would be ok. He contacted us again the next day confirming that this would be the case one day later. We agreed on the price and met at Bakki airport around noon to set off to Surtsey.

Gunnar’s plane is a small Cessna which can take two or maybe three people (next to the pilot). On one side of the plane there is a hatch in the window which can be opened which is helpful to take pictures. The flight to Surtsey and over the other Westman island took about 45 minutes (including the way back). Gunnar made sure we had a good look at Surtsey by circling the island five or six times at different heights including fly-overs, … Consequently, we had an excellent look at the craters, the cave, the small scientists building, … On the way back we also circled Heimaey. Since the weather was good, it was a calm flight with a pilot knowing his way around the Westman islands (Gunnar told us that the ferry to the Westman islands only exists for about a decade and before this time he used to operate a scheduled flight to the Westman islands). The price will of course to be agreed upon with Gunnar, but in our case it came down to half of the SACA/Atlantsflug price (only payable in cash) which seems logical since the small Cessna can transport less people than the SACA boat or larger Atlantsflug plains.

So it seems there are three options to visit Surtsey depending on group size and preferences: (i) SACA boat which we understand from Els’ review can take up to 6 people and/or for people who don’t like/dare to fly (small) airplanes/prefer a boat ride, (ii) Atlantsflug plane for more than 2 people, or (iii) Gunnar’s plane. A potential benefit of the plane is also that it departs from the mainland (for those who don’t have the Westman islands on their Iceland itinerary).  

4.00 The Netherlands - 22-Aug-20 -

When you look at my ‘Missing’ map, you can see that I have visited nearly all European WHS except for those tiny islands scattered here and there at the fringes. Last year was a true debacle in that regard, missing out on both St. Kilda and Skellig Michael in the same summer due to unfavourable weather conditions. The same risk applies to Surtsey, though it lies not so far out as St. Kilda. Also, unlike the other two, Surtsey is not served by scheduled boat tours and the once-available flightseeing tours have been discontinued. So I did not dare to hope to reach it during my trip around Iceland.

Fortunately, those intrepid Norwegians Randi and Svein visited 2 weeks before me and proved that it would be possible. Just cross your fingers for calm weather and bring a stash of money (in Iceland this means: having a credit card with a high enough limit). The go-to guys for a private charter are SACA. When I saw that the weather forecast for the weekend was sunny and calm, I contacted them by email on Wednesday. On Friday evening, when the detailed weather maps for the next day were available, the final decision was made to leave the next morning at 9 a.m.

So we went, captain Simmi, his adult son and myself on a so-called RIB, something that looks like an inflatable dinghy - but with a sturdy hull and the qualification "unsinkable". It is completely uncovered and has room for 6 passengers (which is really, really small). I was given a warm coverall to wear against wind and weather. They directed me to sit on the front bench and then we sailed out of the bay of Heimaey.

We first navigated between the other Westman Islands. These are grouped together in a cluster. Like Surtsey, they are of volcanic origin, often not much more than rocky points. The largest puffin colony in the world lives on one of those islands with a million pairs breeding. There were still plenty around this late in the year. The grass on the slope was covered with white dots, all of them puffins. Later we also saw young bobbing on the water. Another island's cliff face is popular with nesting gannets. To see these large birds together in such large groups is really special. They had pooped all over the cliff.

After we left the other islands behind, the trip to Surtsey continued on the open ocean. The waves were a lot higher here and the boat was constantly hitting the water. If you sit in the front, you always get hit - this expedition is not recommended for people with back problems! But of course, you have the best view. At one point we sailed through a large group of birds that congregated at sea. They flew all around us.

Surtsey soon came into view. The island is easily recognizable because it is bare, brownish and has the shape of a table mountain. Due to erosion by wind and water, the island is getting smaller every year; since its birth, almost 50% of the surface has vanished. It has two volcanic cones and a lava field. On top of one of the cones are the remains of a lighthouse - it was supposed to be removed in 2007 (a promise upon inscription!) but still stands. There is also a cabin on the island for researchers.

We sailed all around it; it is less than 2 square kilometers in size, so it didn't take that long. The coast consists mainly of a cliff and there is one cave. We saw the head of a gray seal emerge from the coastal waters. Seals were the first mammals that started breeding here, in 1983. The first birds were already there in 1963, 2 weeks after the volcanic eruption started and the island was formed. Now 89 bird species have been counted that occasionally reside on Surtsey. You can also see small patches of green appear on the slope of the volcano.

On the way back the wind strengthened and halfway through I exchanged my spot in the front for the much more comfortable seats behind the skippers' backs. We sailed into some more caves in search of rare birds and then ended up in the beautiful bay of Heimaey again. The excitement beforehand and the journey towards it made this visit to Surtsey special, also because you know that this is a rare ‘tick’. The number of seabirds you see along the way is incredible. The island of Surtsey itself is not beautiful, but it is fascinating and combined with the much greener other Westman Islands makes for an unforgettable experience in Iceland.

Read more from Els Slots here .

Michael Ayers

USA - 16-Jul-19 -

Visit in July 2019.

Surtsey is a place that I have been fascinated with for essentially my entire life. In fact, the island and I are almost exactly the same age. Technically, Surtsey was “born” about eight weeks before I was, but I also existed at the time Surtsey rose from the sea, I just hadn't “erupted” quite yet. I also remember watching movies about the creation of the island, and also of the eruption ten years later on the nearby island of Heimaey, in the Vestmannaeyjar, when I was in the fifth grade in primary school. Consequently, I was very motivated to make an actual visit to this difficult-to-reach WHS.

Nothing has really changed in recent years regarding the status of Surtsey. It is still prohibited to land on the island, and it is unlikely that this will ever change. That leaves a trip to its offshore areas by sea, or a flyover in a small aircraft, as the only realistic options for a visit. In my opinion, this is not really a bad thing, since I don't believe that actually walking on the island would provide any real value compared to what you could see by the other methods. Additionally, there is not a safe landing site for small boats anywhere on the island at this time.

As I neared the area, there was still one tour operator in the Vestemannaeyjar that advertises a Private Tour to Surtsey on their Web site. However, when I went to their office and asked about it, I was told that they would use a rib boat that seats 12 passengers. If there was a group of that size willing to go, they would run the tour, and the cost would be reasonable at about $250 per person. But for only 1 person, as I was, the total cost for that tour would have been quite unrealistic. They also told me that nobody had asked about a tour to Surtsey in a long time, so it seems that there is not much demand from the general public, or even from WH travelers. I also asked around the town about a sightseeing flight, since there is a small airport on the mainland of Iceland that shuttles people over to the Vestmannaeyjar in small aircraft. No one that I spoke with had any idea whether that would be possible, or not, and when I stopped by the small airport on the way to the islands, no one was in the office.

However, Heimaey has an active port, and wherever there is a port, there is usually someone with a boat willing to take you somewhere, for the right price. I continued to ask, and found someone, who knew someone, who knew someone with a boat that could possibly do what I wanted.  This led me to a small tour company ( www.saca.is ), which doesn't list Surtsey on its Web site, but when I made contact, the owner, a native of Heimaey named Halli, told me that he would be willing to give it a try the next day, as long as the weather looked reasonable. His boat is smaller, taking a maximum of 4-6 people, so while I had to pay for an entire tour myself, the total was just over one third of the price I was given by the other boat tour operator. It was still a little more than I probably should have spent, but I had come a long way, and was distinctly determined to get to Surtsey, so I reserved the trip for the next day. For a group of 4 people, which would be much easier to organize, a Tour from Halli would be a very good value.

The following day we were very lucky, and the wind and waves were a little less than they had been for a few days, or would become in the following days, so we set out early in the morning. It took about an hour to get to Surtsey and along the way I enjoyed observing the many pelagic bird species that were present in great numbers as we moved south from Heimaey. As we approached the island, I was impressed that it was somewhat larger than I was expecting, and with the variety of geological forms that it presented. On the north and east sides of the island there is a low-lying area of large, but loosely-arranged lava rocks which gradually rise up towards the two main peaks on the island. On this side one can see the two tiny huts that researchers use when they visit Surtsey, as well as the slowly expanding zone where plants have begun to colonize the island (shown in the image). Moving around, in a clockwise direction, the remaining cinder cone comes into view. On the south and west side of the island, the formerly loose lava rocks have consolidated into palagonite, and the shoreline consists of sheer cliffs that, in places, are 100 meters high. On this side, it is clear that Surtsey will still be around for a long, long time to come.

I really enjoyed my visit to this site, and Halli was an excellent guide, who had a lot of personal knowledge about Surtsey and the Vestmannaeyjar to pass along. On the way back to the port, we also visited the cliffs and caves of Heimaey, which was a nice bonus. For someone who has an interest in geology, doesn't mind being out on the open ocean in a small boat, or simply likes to see places that few other people have seen, a visit to Surtsey is a good choice, assuming the weather is as good as it was for me. I fit all three of those criteria, so for me it was a great visit.

There is a relatively new Surtsey exhibit at the Volcano Museum on Heimaey, which provides a good deal of information on the island and its creation.  Some may wonder if a visit to the museum could count as a visit to Surtsey, but I would be a little uneasy about claiming that. However, I was told that, on a clear day, it is possible to get a distant view of Surtsey during the standard boat tours around Heimaey, and that, in combination with the museum, might be more reasonable to count as a visit to Surtsey. Personally, I wouldn't have been very satisfied with that myself, so I am glad the weather cooperated and I was able to make it out to the island proper.

Read more from Michael Ayers here .

Michael Johnson

UK - 11-Oct-13 -

I was actually there when the eruption started. It was about 5am when a very large underwater noise was heard. I was on HMS Duncan at the time and we immediately went to 'Emergency Stations' as no one knew what was happening. We were all on the upper deck and as dawn broke we saw smoke coming from the surface of the sea. We closed the scene and realised that this was a volcanic eruption under the sea taking place. We and the ship were covered in ash. Amazing experience!!!

2.50 UK - 14-Jul-10 -

As indicated in the previous review, a “tourist” visit to Surtsey involving a landing is not possible - and even such visits by scientists are strictly limited. We did however achieve a very close viewing from the sea (around half a mile) during a recent voyage from UK to Greenland. Indeed I even feel entirely “vindicated” in claiming a visit to the inscribed area since this includes a significant marine element as well as the island itself. A comparison of my photo of the display screen of our vessel’s navigation system with the map of the inscribed area from the UNESCO site shows clearly our passage within the inscribed boundaries and indeed later included a passage “over” the corner of the now submerged island of Jolnir to the SW of Surtsey. This island, named after another Norse God, emerged with Surtsey in 1963 but rapidly eroded after volcanic activity ceased in 1966.

So what did we see/learn from our “sail by”? Well such a rapid visit to Surtsey made solely for that purpose would certainly be hard to justify in cost terms! But we had been visiting the Westmann Islands and Surtsey was on a natural course from them across the Denmark Strait to Greenland. This visit mainly involved the island/town of Heimaey and encompassed such interests as bird life, Norse history, the Westmann “way of life” and of course the famous eruption of 1973 which led to the evacuation of the entire island, the partial destruction of the town and the near closure of the harbour by lava. A boat trip out to Surtsey as part of such a wider visit would certainly be justifiable – if you are “doing” Iceland you can get to Heimaey by ferry and there are occasional boat trips out to Surtsey from there. If this trip is important to you it might be worth checking with http://www.vikingtours.is/ since, apparently such tours are not common.

The island was a lot smaller and lower than I had expected. There were a few visible human artifacts – a hut for the scientists and a radio mast! The flatter side of the island is, apparently, eroding quite rapidly and the island can be expected to continue to shrink. Grass was clearly visible – it had colonized particularly the well-fertilised sea gull nesting area. Ravens had also moved in quite quickly to take advantage of the available food (Gulls!). We were told that, generally, the colonization by both animal and plant life had progressed more quickly and with greater variety than had originally been expected. But this is no Galapagos or Aldabra 100s of miles from other land. The new land areas of Heimaey created in 1973 may not have been as rigidly free of human influence as Surtsey (parts of the lava near the town received "assisted" plant consolidation) but they too were “sprouting” with life from what were clearly natural causes – and Surtsey is visible from them only a few windy miles across the sea!

UK - 11-Jul-08 -

The island of Surtsey was created by a huge volcanic eruption that lasted from 1963-67. Ever since it broke through the sea its entire life has been rigorously documented and studied, probably the only place on earth that this can be said of. The study has not only revealed how the geology of the island has formed but also how different forms of life have started to inhabit it. It certainly deserves it’s place on the World Heritage List.

It is one to add to the list of almost impossible places to visit. Due to the nature of the sight only a very select number of Scientists are allowed onto the island in order to study how life colonises this latest addition to Iceland.

It is possible in summer to have a ‘cruise’ around the island, or there are planes that fly from Reykjavik to give an overview but these are pretty expensive (Iceland isn’t a cheap destination) and perhaps only really rewarding for the specialist/ completionist.

The best bet is to head for Reykjavik’s excellent Culture House, the top floor of this small museum is dedicated to Surtsey (the ground floor has an astounding display of early Icelandic manuscripts, including many of the oldest known versions of the Saga’s) specifically to tie in with the nomination as a world heritage site. It is a great exhibition there is an interactive display that illustrates how the island has changed throughout its life, from size and shape to how it has been colonised by flora and fauna. There are also specimens from the island, photo’s, 3-D maps and perhaps most enjoyably a large projection of the footage screened of the islands violent birth. This is a great museum not to be missed, and about as close as most will come to ‘visiting’ Surtsey.

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Surtsey Research Society

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Surtsey island

Surtsey is a volcanic island located in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the southern coast of Iceland. Surtsey is the southernmost point of Iceland.

It was formed in a volcanic eruption that began 130 meters below sea level and reached the surface on 14 November 1963. The eruption lasted until 5 June 1967, when the island reached its maximum size of 2.7 square km.

Since then, wave erosion has caused the island to steadily diminish in size. As of 2012, its surface area was 1.3 km2. The most recent survey (2007) shows the island’s maximum elevation at 155 m above sea level.

The new island was named after Surtr, a fire jötunn or giant from Norse mythology. It was intensively studied by volcanologists during its eruption, and afterward by botanists and other biologists as life forms gradually colonized the originally barren island.

The undersea vents that produced Surtsey are part of the Vestmannaeyjar submarine volcanic system, part of the fissure of the seafloor called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Vestmannaeyjar also produced the famous eruption of Eldfell on the island of Heimaey in 1973.

The eruption that created Surtsey also created a few other small islands along this volcanic chain, such as Jólnir and unnamed other peaks. Most of these eroded away fairly quickly.

Now what was is left of the 3,2 square km island is nothing but about 1,6 square km. It is estimated to remain above sea level for another 100 years.

The eruption was unexpected, and almost certainly began some days before it became apparent at the surface. The seafloor at the eruption site is 130 meters below sea level, and at this depth volcanic emissions and explosions would be suppressed, quenched, and dissipated by the water pressure and density.

Gradually, as repeated flows built up a mound of material that approached sea level, the explosions could no longer be contained, and activity broke the surface.

The first noticeable indications of volcanic activity were recorded at the seismic station in Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Iceland from 6 to 8 November, which detected weak tremors emanating from an epicenter approximately west-south-west at a distance of 140 km, the location of Surtsey.

Another station in Reykjavík recorded even weaker tremors for ten hours on 12 November at an undetermined location, when seismic activity ceased until 21 November.

That same day, people in the coastal town of Vík 80 km away noticed a smell of hydrogen sulfide. On 13 November, a fishing vessel in search of herring, equipped with sensitive thermometers, noted sea temperatures 3.2 km SW of the eruption center were 2.4 °C higher than surrounding waters.

At 07:15 UTC on 14 November 1963, the cook of Ísleifur II, a trawler sailing these same waters spotted a rising column of dark smoke southwest of the boat. The captain thought it might have been a boat on fire, and ordered the vessel to investigate. Instead, they encountered explosive eruptions giving off black columns of ash, indicating that a volcanic eruption had begun to penetrate the surface of the sea.

By 11:00 the same day, the eruption column had reached several kilometers in height. At first, the eruptions took place at three separate vents along a northeast by southwest trending fissure, but by the afternoon the separate eruption columns had merged into one along the erupting fissure.

Over the next week, explosions were continuous, and after just a few days the new island, formed mainly of scoria, measured over 500 meters in length and had reached a height of 45 meters.

As the eruptions continued, they became concentrated at one vent along the fissure and began to build the island into a more circular shape. By 24 November, the island measured about 900 meters by 650 meters. The violent explosions caused by the meeting of lava and seawater meant that the island consisted of a loose pile of volcanic rock (scoria), which was eroded rapidly by North Atlantic storms during the winter.

However, eruptions more than kept pace with wave erosion, and by February 1964, the island had a maximum diameter of over 1300 meters.

The explosive phreatomagmatic eruptions caused by the easy access of water to the erupting vents threw rocks up to a kilometer away from the island and sent ash clouds as high as 10 km up into the atmosphere. The loose pile of unconsolidated tephra would quickly have been washed away had the supply of fresh magma dwindled, and large clouds of dust were often seen blowing away from the island during this stage of the eruption.

The new island was named after the fire jötunn Surtur from Norse mythology (“Surts” is the genitive case of “Surtur”, plus -ey, island).

Three French journalists representing the magazine Paris Match notably landed there on 6 December 1963, staying for about 15 minutes before violent explosions encouraged them to leave. The journalists jokingly claimed French sovereignty over the island, but Iceland quickly asserted that the new island belonged to it.

By early 1964, though, the continuing eruptions had built the island to such a size that seawater could no longer easily reach the vents, and the volcanic activity became much less explosive. Instead, lava fountains and flows became the main form of activity.

These resulted in a hard cap of extremely erosion-resistant rock being laid down on top of much of the loose volcanic pile, which prevented the island from being washed away rapidly. Effusive eruptions continued until 1965, by which time the island had a surface area of 2.5 km2.

On 28 December 1963, submarine activity 2.5 km to the northeast of Surtsey caused the formation of a ridge 100 m high on the seafloor. This seamount was named Surtla but never reached sea level. Eruptions at Surtla ended on 6 January 1964, and it has since been eroded from its minimum depth of 23 m to 47 m below sea level.

In 1965, the activity on the main island diminished, but at the end of May that year an eruption began at a vent 0.6 km off the northern shore. By 28 May, an island had appeared and was named Syrtlingur (Little Surtsey).

The new island was washed away during early June but reappeared on 14 June. Eruptions at Syrtlingur were much smaller in scale than those that had built Surtsey, with the average rate of emission of volcanic materials being about a tenth of the rate at the main vent.

The activity was short-lived, continuing until the beginning of October 1965, by which time the islet had an area of 0.15 km2. Once the eruptions had ceased, wave erosion rapidly wore the island away, and it disappeared beneath the waves on 24 October.

During December 1965, more submarine activity occurred 0.9 km southwest of Surtsey, and another island was formed. It was named Jólnir, and over the following eight months it appeared and disappeared several times, as wave erosion and volcanic activity alternated in dominance.

Activity at Jólnir was much weaker than the activity at the main vent and even weaker than that seen at Syrtlingur, but the island eventually grew to a maximum size of 70 m in height, covering an area of 0.3 km2, during July and early August 1966. Like Syrtlingur, though, after activity ceased on 8 August 1966, it was rapidly eroded and dropped below sea level during October 1966.

Effusive eruptions on the main island returned on 19 August 1966, with fresh lava flows giving it further resistance to erosion. The eruption rate diminished steadily, though, and on 5 June 1967, the eruption ended. The volcano has been dormant ever since. The total volume of lava emitted during the three-and-a-half-year eruption was about one cubic kilometer, and the island’s highest point was 174 meters above sea level at that time.

Since the end of the eruption, erosion has seen the island diminish in size. A large area on the southeast side has been eroded away completely, while a sand spit called Norðurtangi (north point) has grown on the north side of the island.

It is estimated that about 0.024 km3 of material has been lost due to erosion—this represents about a quarter of the original above-sea-level volume of the island. Its maximum elevation has diminished to 155 m.

Following the end of the eruption, scientists established a grid of benchmarks against which they measured the change in the shape of the island. In the 20 years following the end of the eruption, measurements revealed that the island was steadily subsiding and had lost about one meter in height.

The rate of subsidence was initially about 20 cm per year but slowed to 1–2 cm a year by the 1990s. It had several causes: settling of the loose tephra forming the bulk of the volcano, compaction of seafloor sediments underlying the island, and downward warping of the lithosphere due to the weight of the volcano.

The typical pattern of volcanism in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago is for each eruption site to see just a single eruption, and so the island is unlikely to be enlarged in the future by further eruptions.

The heavy seas around the island have been eroding it ever since the island appeared, and since the end of the eruption, almost half its original area has been lost. The island currently loses about 1.0 hectares of its surface area each year.

This island is unlikely to disappear entirely in the near future. The eroded area consisted mostly of loose tephra, easily washed away. Most of the remaining area is capped by hard lava flows, which are much more resistant to erosion.

In addition, complex chemical reactions within the loose tephra within the island have gradually formed highly erosion-resistant tuff material, in a process known as palagonitization. On Surtsey, this process has happened quite rapidly, due to high temperatures not far below the surface.

Estimates of how long Surtsey will survive are based on the rate of erosion seen up to the present day. Assuming that the current rate does not change, the island will be mostly at or below sea level by 2100. However, the rate of erosion is likely to slow as the tougher core of the island is exposed: an assessment assuming that the rate of erosion will slow exponentially suggests that the island will survive for many centuries.

An idea of what it will look like in the future is given by the other small islands in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, which formed in the same way as Surtsey several thousand years ago, and have eroded away substantially since they were formed.

The only other significant human impact is a small prefabricated hut that is used by researchers while staying on the island. The hut includes a few bunk beds and a solar power source to drive an emergency radio and other key electronics.

All visitors check themselves and belongings to ensure no seeds are accidentally introduced by humans to this ecosystem. It is believed that some young boys tried to introduce potatoes, which were promptly dug up once discovered. An improperly handled human defecation resulted in a tomato plant taking root which was also destroyed.

In 2009 a weather station for weather observations and a webcam was installed on Surtsey.

Surtsey island on Google map

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Home » Sights & Attractions » Surtsey Island, the Earth’s Youngest Island

Surtsey Island, the Earth’s Youngest Island

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Surtsey is known as the Earth’s youngest island. In fact, Surtsey is a volcanic island that was formed following an undersea eruption 130 meters (426 feet) deep. Icelandic fishermen first noticed the undersea eruption on November 14th, 1963. The eruption continued until 1967 when Surtsey reached its maximum size. Ever since Surtsey first emerged from the ocean, the island has been monitored and studied. Scientists track plant life and more to get a better understanding about the development of a brand new island. However, access to the island is strictly limited so as to not interfere with the island’s natural evolution.

FAQ about Surtsey Island

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Since the eruption in 1963, scientists have tried to minimize human disruption on the island. Scientists want to study the colonization by plants and animals, as well as shaping of geological formations and more. 

No, no one lives on Surtsey. Only a small number of scientists are allowed to visit Surtsey island every year, and they only stay for several days at a time. The only way visitors can catch a glimpse of the mysterious volcanic island is via boat or plane.

Surtsey is a volcanic island that was formed during an undersea eruption in 1963. The eruption lasted until 1967 when Surtsey reached its maximum size of 1.4 km2 (0.54 sq mi).

Distances from Surtsey Island

No, it is not possible to visit Surtsey island. Only a small number of scientists are allowed to visit Surtsey. However, it is possible to book  flights or boat tours that will take you close to the island. There is a Surtsey visitor center on Heimaey (Westman Islands) that is worth a visit. 

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Vestmannaeyjar, seljalandsfoss, could also interest you, for useful tips & tricks about traveling in iceland find us on social media, iceland’s top public observatory, 20 photos that will convince you to get married in iceland, iceland’s new volcanic eruption: what you need to know, rangá room categories.

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Private boat tour around surtsey.

In this private tour we will head out for a 3 hour boat tour around the world famous Surtsey (note that we can only sail around it, it is not open for public).

Surtsey is on the World heritage list and you can read more about Surtsey and how it was formed in 1963 here

The price for a 3 hour boat tour in a Rib boat is 330.000 and the boat can take up to 12 persons.

This tour is dependant upon availability and weather so please contact us for more information.

• No booking fees or any hidden cost.
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We accept these major credit cards.

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• 900, Westman Islands / Vestmannaeyjar / Heimaey
• Etravel ehf. (530208-1680) / TaxCode: 97239

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There's an Island In Iceland That's Only 50 Years Old

By Ken Jennings

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Explore the world's oddities every week with Ken Jennings , and check out his book Maphead for more geography trivia.

There were plenty of famous birthdays celebrated in November 1963, the same month as the Kennedy assassination. _Desperate Housewives _actress Nicollette Sheridan and _Downton Abbe_y star Hugh Bonneville were born that month, as were NFL quarterbacks Vinny Testaverde and Bernie Kosar. And here’s one more: Surtsey, a volcanic island off the coast of Iceland! That’s right: most of the Earth is unimaginably ancient, but not Surtsey. Let’s visit a place that’s younger than Pop-Tarts, The Jetsons , the Rolling Stones, and video games.

On November 14, 1963, an Icelandic fishing boat called the Isleifur II was rocked by sudden waves, and at dawn, the ship’s cook noticed a column of smoke in the southwest. The ship hurried to the spot, wondering if there was a ship on fire. Instead, they found ash plumes and the sulfurous smell of an underwater volcanic eruption.

As the hot lava from the eruption met the cold water of the North Atlantic, a new island was quickly and violently formed. A week later, the bouncing baby island had risen 150 feet above the water. Iceland named the new island Surtsey, after Surtr, a mythical Norse fire-giant who will probably show up in a Thor movie someday. A trio of Parisian journalists landed on the island the following month and claimed the new land for France, but Iceland pooh-poohed their tongue-in-cheek claim.

By the time the eruption stopped in 1967, Surtsey had grown to a tenth of a square mile of black rock, about the size of Disneyland, and its peak was towering 230 feet above the ocean. The lava flows that covered the surface have proved resistant to erosion, so the island has lasted five decades. But once the surface wears away, most of Surtsey’s interior is made up of loose volcanic fragments called tephra, which won’t last long in the stormy Atlantic. In a century, Surtsey will probably be gone.

Until then, access to the island is tightly controlled, because it’s a unique real-world laboratory where scientists can study how life colonizes land. Seeds brought by wind and waves sprouted on the north shore in 1965, when Surtsey was just a year old, and mosses and lichens followed by 1970. The same year, seabirds began to nest on Surtsey, and seals were basking on its coast. Earthworms didn’t show up until 1993. The scientists who visit Surtsey today carefully monitor their shoe soles and trouser cuffs to make sure they’re not bringing in new species, but keeping Earth’s newest ecosystem clean requires endless vigilance. In 1977, someone took an unsupervised bathroom break and deposited a tomato seed that took root. The stowaway tomato plant had to be eradicated with extreme prejudice.

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EXPLORE Surtsey with this slideshow, check the location map and get all the facts and information below.

Location and Values: Surtsey is a small volcanic island that emerged from the ocean, about 30 km off the south coast of Iceland, during volcanic eruptions in the 1960s. It has been totally protected since its creation, providing a unique natural laboratory to study the processes of colonization by plant and animal life. Forty years after its emergence the island had been colonised by as many as 60 species of vascular plants, some of them carried as seeds by ocean currents. Eighty nine species of birds and 335 invertebrates have now been recorded.

Conservation Status and Prospects.  According to IUCN’s Conservation Outlook Assessment (2020) the conservation status of Surtsey is ‘good’. The IUCN report notes that Surtsey is a highly controlled location, which includes a surrounding marine area, with strict biosecurity measures for any scientists going ashore. No other visitors are permitted on the island. Nevertheless, invasive alien species remain a significant potential threat, and the proximity of fishing and sightseeing tourism boats, as well as cruise ships and larger vessels may result in pollution, oil spills and solid waste washing ashore. The process of colonization will also be affected by climate change and its impact on the ecology of the surrounding seas and nearby islands (as these serve as potential sources of colonizing plants and animals).

Links: Google Earth Official UNESCO Site Details IUCN Conservation Outlook UNEP-WCMC Site Description Birdlife IBA

Slideshow description

The slideshow ‘tells the story’ of Surtsey with a portfolio of photos that illustrate its landscape features and some aspects of the colonization process that is underway.  It starts with a series of photos of the island from offshore, showing the distinctive geology of its volcanic origins, and some areas of flatter land near the shore where plant colonization has become quite extensive, 60 years after the island appeared.  The second part of the slideshow features a rare series of photos by Erling Olafsson taken in various locations onshore, where the process of plant colonization is demonstrated in more detail.  The slideshow is concluded with a few images from the time of the original eruption, viewed from the air, in 1964.

Website Categories: Islands ; Earth Features Area: 34 km 2

Inscribed: 2008

UNESCO Criterion:

• Ecological processes (ix);

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You may also like to explore these other featured sites:-, galapagos islands, heard and mcdonald islands, isole eolie (aeolian islands), ujung kulon national park, vatnajökull national park – dynamic nature of fire and ice.

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About Iceland

Visa information, geography of iceland, general information, the northern lights, volcanic eruptions, sustainable travel, iceland academy, plan your trip, how to get there, accommodation, things to do, map your journey, getting around, visitor numbers, carbon footprint, destinations, the regions, scenic routes, national parks, trip suggestions, towns & villages, inspiration, food and beverages, lbgt+ travel.

Vatnajökull National Park covers about 14 percent of Iceland, with eight volcanoes and glaical lagoons accessible along the southern coast; pictured is Hoffellsjökull.

Surtsey Island, Vatnajökull National Park and Þingvellir: Iceland's Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Iceland’s key role in the history of literature, along with the country’s unique geography, make it home to three UNESCO-designated world heritage sites. These carefully selected places are areas with legal protection for having such cultural, historical, or scientific significance that they provide outstanding value to humanity.

Reykjavik was also just the fifth city in the world to be selected as a UNESCO City of Literature, in large part owing to the importance of its medieval manuscripts. The Icelandic Sagas tell the story of Iceland’s earliest settlers, while the Poetic Edda holds the key to Norse mythology.

Check out Iceland’s three world heritage sites below.

Surtsey Island, created in a 1960s volcanic eruption, has been intensively studied by botanists and biologists for the clues it can offer as to how plants and animals reach and spread across brand-new land

Surtsey Island

There are few places on earth as temporary and pristine as Surtsey. The tiny 1.5km island about 32km off the southern coast of Iceland has only existed since the 1960s, when a volcano erupted 130 meters below the surface of the ocean, creating the island from volcanic piles and cooled lava. Violent underwater explosions sent black smoke billowing into the air, catapulted rocks a kilometer away, and sent clouds of ash 9km into the sky.

Today, it’s totally off-limits to all but a select few researchers, and the island has been intensively studied by botanists and biologists for the clues it can offer as to how plants and animals reach and spread across brand-new land. There are only a handful of places in the world where islands have been created within living memory. And already, the island has shrunk to about half its original size due to subsidence and erosion. As a nature reserve, Surtsey is virtually free of human interference - there’s just one small hut used by scientists.

At first, Surtsey was home only to bare rock, seals, and gulls. Slowly, seeds were blown there by winds and ocean currents. More seabirds landed. Moss and insects showed up; seals attracted orcas; the first earthworm was found on Surtsey in 1993, and the first bush began to grow in 1998.

The island is only temporary, though: scientists estimate that Surtsey will sink back below the sea sometime after the end of this century.

Hike up to Svartifoss waterfall to see it cascade from a black basalt cliff; the contrasts of Vatnajökull National Park are on display along the paths in Skaftafell. Photo by Þorsteinn Roy

Vatnajökull National Park

The strange and varied lands around Vatnajökull are where Iceland first got its moniker “land of fire and ice.” The national park, one of three in Iceland, encompasses the Vatnajökull glacier, Europe’s largest outside the Arctic, as well as surrounding areas. Powerful glacial rivers, active volcanos, flood-carved canyons and thundering waterfalls pepper the area, and visitors can choose from a range of hikes that span from easy to challenging. The hikes offer an incredible glimpse into the major stages of earth’s history.

Part of the compelling shape of the park is due to the area’s eight subglacial volcanoes. When one of the volanoes below the ice cap erupts, it can breach the margin of the glacier and cause a sudden, spectacular flood called a jökulhlaup , which in turn creates a unique and ever-shifting landscape of plains, canyons, black sands and rivers. The lava fields and fissures are so alien that researchers have used the area to test equipment and spacesuits headed for Mars .

The park contains multiple visitor centres with shops and exhibitions. Hike up to Svartifoss waterfall to see it cascade from a black basalt cliff, or kayak around icebergs in Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon . Climb around in an ice cave or walk through the stunning, u-shaped Ásbyrgi Canyon , said to have been made when Odin’s horse, Sleipnir, stepped down from the heavens.

A car or campervan will allow you to access the park more easily. The highland areas here, which are only accessible by 4WD during summer, are uninhabited and have limited services, so plan ahead.

The North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet at Þingvellir and their slow drift apart leaves behind the crystal-clear Silfra, where visitors can snorkel and dive while floating over the continental rift

Þingvellir National Park

About 40km northeast of Reykjavik winds a rift in the continents where visitors can scuba dive in the heart of Icelandic history. Þingvellir is a rift valley bordered by Iceland's largest natural lake, and for over 800 years, until 1798, this valley hosted the general assembly of Iceland, where Iceland’s national identity and its political future were determined.

For centuries, every summer, thousands of people - both leaders and ordinary Icelanders - from all across the island would travel for days to convene here for the annual parliament. Attendees would set up temporary turf houses and establish a kind of political and cultural carnival, thronged with not only politicians but sworp-sharpeners, entertainers, brewers and merchants. The focal point of the site was the Lögberg , or Law Rock , where an elected lawspeaker was required to recite - from memory - the law of the land over the course of three summers.

The site is also unique for another reason: this is where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. Their slow drift apart (about 19mm per year) leaves behind the crystal-clear Silfra, where visitors can snorkel and dive while floating over the continental rift . The park also has camping grounds, an information center, and hiking trails.

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            The Surtsey Research Society

When it became clear that Surtsey would endure as a permanent island, a group of enthusiastic researchers got together and founded a committee that…….

The Preservation of Surtsey

Owing to the scientific research projects that are carried out on Surtsey, the island was declared a nature reserve in 1965 by the Environment and Food Agency. This declaration of preservation was renewed in 1974 with reference to new nature conservation legislation. 

Surtsey Eruption

The Surtsey eruption is among the longest eruptions to have occurred in Iceland in historical times. The first sign of an eruption came early in the morning of November 14, 1963, at a site approximately 18 km southwest of Heimaey, the largest of the Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands). 

Hydrothermal Activity

Temperature measurements have been carried out on a regular basis in Surtsey in order to observe the effects that heat has on the consolidation of tephra and to determine ….

Petrology of Volcanic Products

The magma and lava in Surtsey are of alkali olivine basalt, which is the type of basalt found in Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) and on the Snæfellsnes peninsula….

Erosion of the Island

Very strong winds are common in Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) area, and shore erosion by oceanic waves is therefore substantial. For example, in an extreme….

Formation of Palagonite Tuffs

The basalt glass of the Surtsey tephra is easily altered, and the rock formed is called palagonite tuff (móberg). The conversion causes the tephra particles to stick together…..

Mineral Encrustations

On Surtsey a large amount of richly colored encrustations formed around the craters, both during the eruption and for a few years after it had ended.  These surface encrustations….

LIFE ON THE SHORE AND IN THE SEA

The pioneers.

Among the first colonists of Surtsey’s coastal environment were diatoms discovered on the sandy beach in August 1964. The dispersal ….

The Littoral Zone

Various annual algae species have colonized the littoral cliffs on the eastern, southern and western shores of Surtsey. In the beginning, there were….

The Sublittoral Zone

In the first years after Surtsey’s formation, only a few species of benthic algae and animals could be found. The species were distributed sparsely, so….

Seals began visiting the island shortly after its formation, using it as a resting place. Constant erosion of the shoreline inhibited them from….

COLONIZATION OF THE LAND

Arrival of organisms.

In the first spring after the formation of Surtsey, seeds and other plant parts were found washed up on the newly formed shore. Some of the seeds were collected….

Higher Plants

At the beginning of research in Surtsey, each new individual among higher plants was observed and its place of discovery and growth registered on a map of the island. Each new plant was labelled ….

Lower Plants

In the beginning, favourable conditions for lower plants on land were only to be found around steamholes where emission of cold or hot steam kept pumice and lava rock continually damp….

Invertebrate Fauna

The first insect was discovered on Surtsey in May 1964. The discovery of other invertebrates of various species followed. As was expected, these were mostly flying insects to begin with, a….

Surtsey had just risen above the ocean surface when the first birds made their landfall. Since then, around 90 bird species have been recorded on or around….

Iceland Mag

Surtsey volcanic island is geologically active, teeming with life

By Magnús Sveinn Helgason | Jul 22 2015

Virgin land The volcanic Sursey island is still boiling hot, just inches under the ground, but this has not stopped it from being colonized by puffins and eider. Photos from the website of the Icelandic Institute of Natural History /Kristján Jónasson

The most recent trip of scientists to the volcanic island of Surtsey, on the southern coast of Iceland, shows the island to be teeming with life. The most recent trip by scientists fromt he Icelandic Institute of Natural History found that new species have colonized the island, which also shows signs of being more geologically active than previously known. 

Still boiling hot Surtsey is the youngest island around Iceland, formed in a under-sea volcanic eruption in 1963-65. The island is the southernmost island in the Westman Island archipelago, off the coast of south Iceland.

The scientists measured increased geothermal activity in the western part of the island, where the temperature was found to be as high as 99.6°C (211.3°F) only 10-20 cm (4-8 inches) beneath the surface. The temperatures are significantly higher than those found on previous occasions.

But life still flourishes! Several types of plant, insect and animals which had not been seen previously  were recorded in the trip. A total of 65 types of plants have colonized the island. The scientists were pleasantly surprised to find a eider nest with three chicks. Several other bird populations in the island had grown in size.

A unique site Surtsey island, which has been designated a protected natural reserve, remains closed to the public. Only a small number of scientists are allowed to visit the island which is watched closely by biologists and ecologists who have used it to study bio colonisation.

Since the island was completely barren and devoid of any life when it emerged from the ocean in 1963-65 it offers a unique opportunity to study how new species of plants and animals colonise a virgin land. In 2008 Surtsey was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its great scientific value.

Life finds its way to a virgin land Over the first two decades very few plants could establish themselves in the nutrient poor soil of the island, but in the past two decades more species have been found in Surtsey. The first birds nested only three years after the eruption stopped. An important milestone was the establishment of the first seagull colony in 1984. The growth of the sea-bird population is important as the birds provide important fertilizer for plants in the form of guano.

Read more:  The Westman Islands are the Pompeii of the North

The first puffins nested in Surtsey in 2004 and even ravens were seen nesting in the island in 2008. With the addition of Eider to the list of Surtsey natives the number of birds seen nesting in the island has risen to 16.

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I caught my first glimpse of the island of Surtsey on my fourth day aboard the National Geographic Resolution with the rest of the 2023 Storyfest winners and Planet Forward editorial staff this July. We had spent the morning cruising by islands off the coast of Iceland, each one lined with jagged black cliffs and coated in puffin nests. By comparison, Surtsey was unremarkable looking — a hill of dirt, stone and grass deposited in the open ocean. 

But, by the time I saw Surtsey from the deck of the Resolution, the story behind this diminutive island had already captured my attention. In 1963, the island erupted into existence and claimed the title of the youngest landmass on earth. I imagined the clouds of smoke and ash that bloomed from this exact stretch of ocean 50 years ago.  

The story of Surtsey is incredibly brief in geologic time, yet a full account of its evolution could fill volumes. In this article, I chose to focus on exactly that — the stories that researchers, journalists, fishermen and passersby tell about this place.

Click on the presentation below  to see the full story.

Editor’s Note:  Lindblad Expeditions , our Planet Forward Storyfest Competition partner, made this series possible by providing winners with an experiential learning opportunity aboard one of their ships. All editorial content is created independently. We thank Lindblad Expeditions for their continued support of our project.

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I was wondering if anyone could give me any information on Surtsey in regards to travelling to the island. Can you fly or is it by ferry?! How long is it to get there?! Is there certain times of the year it is only open or is it year round?! What is the closest airport and hotel to its location?! My husband is putting a tour together of some UNESCO sites he wants to visit, and I can't really find anything out about it myself (I'm not really good with the internet), so any information anyone can give me is very appreciated. Thank you!

Surtsey is a protected nature reserve, not open for the public, only for scientists, with a special permit from the authorities.

http://www.surtsey.is/index_eng.htm

From Heimaey (main island of Vestmannaeyjar) there are boat trips to Surtsey. They won't land on the island, but circle around it. See

http://www.boattours.is/

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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Surtsey Trivia | 54 facts about the volcanic Island

September 9, 2020 By mdovri Leave a Comment

When you’re thinking of an island, you think about a place where you could easily relax spending your holidays. Well, not when it comes to Surtsey Island.

But how many things do we know about Surtsey Island? Let’s find out more about it!

• Surtsey is a volcanic island.
• It is located in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the southern coast of Iceland.

•  It was formed recently. More specifically it was formed on the 14th of November in 1963.
• How was it formed? It was formed in a volcanic eruption which began 130 metres (430 feet) below sea level, and reached the surface.
• The eruption was unexpected, and almost certainly began some days before it became apparent at the surface.
• The sea floor at the eruption site is 130 metres (430 feet) below sea level, and at this depth volcanic emissions and explosions would be suppressed, quenched and dissipated by the water pressure and density.
• Gradually, as repeated flows built up a mound of material that approached sea level, the explosions could no longer be contained, and activity broke the surface.
• The first noticeable indications of volcanic activity were recorded at the seismic station in Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Iceland from 6 to 8 November.
• They detected weak tremors emanating from an epicentre approximately west-south-west at a distance of 140 km (87 mi), the location of Surtsey.
• Another station in Reykjavík recorded even weaker tremors for ten hours on 12 November at an undetermined location, when seismic activity ceased until 21 November.
• That same day, people in the coastal town of Vík 80 km (50 mi) away noticed a smell of hydrogen sulphide.
• On 13 November, a fishing vessel in search of herring, equipped with sensitive thermometers, noted sea temperatures 3.2 km (2.0 mi) SW of the eruption center were 2.4 °C (4.3 °F) higher than surrounding waters.
• At 07:15 UTC on 14 November 1963, the cook of  Ísleifur II , a trawler sailing these same waters, spotted a rising column of dark smoke southwest of the boat.
• The captain thought it might have been a boat on fire, and ordered his crew to investigate.
• Instead, they encountered explosive eruptions giving off black columns of ash, indicating that a volcanic eruption had begun to penetrate the surface of the sea.
• By 11:00 the same day, the eruption column had reached several kilometres in height as mentioned before. At first the eruptions took place at three separate vents along a northeast by southwest trending fissure, but by the afternoon the separate eruption columns had merged into one along the erupting fissure.
• Over the next week, explosions were continuous, and after just a few days the new island, formed mainly of scoria, measured over 500 metres (1,600 feet) in length and had reached a height of 45 metres (148 feet).
• As the eruptions continued, they became concentrated at one vent along the fissure and began to build the island into a more circular shape.
• By 24 November, the island measured about 900 by 650 metres (2,950 by 2,130 ft). The violent explosions caused by the meeting of lava and sea water meant that the island consisted of a loose pile of volcanic rock (scoria), which was eroded rapidly by North Atlantic storms during the winter.
• However, eruptions more than kept pace with wave erosion, and by February 1964, the island had a maximum diameter of over 1,300 metres (4,300 feet).
• The eruption lasted until 5 June 1967.
• It was then, when the island reached its maximum size of 2.7 km 2  (1.0 sq mi).
• Since then, wave erosion has caused the island to steadily diminish in size.
• As of 2012, its surface area was 1.3 km 2  (0.50 sq mi).
• The most recent survey (2007) shows the island’s maximum elevation at 155 m (509 ft) above sea level.
• The new island was named after  Surtr .
• Surtr was a fire  jötunn  or giant from Norse mythology.
• Three French journalists representing the magazine  Paris Match  notably landed there on 6 December 1963.
• They only stayed for about 15 minutes before violent explosions encouraged them to leave.
• The journalists jokingly claimed French sovereignty over the island. Iceland though quickly asserted that the new island belonged to it
• It was intensively studied by volcanologists during its eruption.
• Afterwards it was searched by botanists and other biologists as life forms gradually colonised the originally barren island.
• The undersea vents that produced Surtsey are part of the  Vestmannaeyjar  submarine volcanic system, part of the fissure of the sea floor called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
• Vestmannaeyjar also produced the famous eruption of  Eldfell  on the island of Heimae y  in 1973.
• The eruption that created Surtsey also created a few other small islands along this volcanic chain, such as  Jólnir  and other unnamed peaks.
• Most of these eroded away fairly quickly.
• Surtsey island is the only one left from these islands.
• It is estimated that Surtsey will remain above sea level for another 100 years.
• By early 1964, though, the continuing eruptions had built the island to such a size that sea water could no longer easily reach the vents, and the volcanic activity became much less explosive.
• Instead, lava fountains and flows became the main form of activity. These resulted in a hard cap of extremely erosion-resistant rock being laid down on top of much of the loose volcanic pile, which prevented the island from being washed away rapidly.
• Effusive eruptions continued until 1965, by which time the island had a surface area of 2.5 km 2  (0.97 sq mi).
• Following the end of the eruption, scientists established a grid of benchmarks against which they measured the change in the shape of the island.
• In the 20 years following the end of the eruption, measurements revealed that the island was steadily subsiding and had lost about one metre in height.
• The rate of subsidence was initially about 20 cm (8 in) per year but slowed to 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) a year by the 1990s.
• It had several causes: settling of the loose tephra forming the bulk of the volcano, compaction of sea floor sediments underlying the island, and downward warping of the lithosphere due to the weight of the volcano.
• Complex chemical reactions within the loose tephra within the island have gradually formed highly erosion resistant tuff material, in a process known as palagonitization. On Surtsey this process has happened quite rapidly, due to high temperatures not far below the surface.
• Assuming that the current rate does not change, the island will be mostly at or below sea level by 2100.
• Nobody is allowed to visit (or live) on the island. The only ones who visit it are the scientists.
• The only significant human impact is a small prefabricated hut which is used by researchers while staying on the island. The hut includes a few bunk beds and a solar power source to drive an emergency radio and other key electronics. There is also an abandoned lighthouse foundation.
• All visitors check themselves and belongings to ensure no seeds are accidentally introduced by humans to this ecosystem. I
• t is believed that some young boys tried to introduce potatoes, which were promptly dug up once discovered.
• An improperly handled human defecation resulted in a tomato plant taking root which was also destroyed.
• In 2009 a weather station for weather observations and a webcam were installed on Surtsey.

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Legacies from the past: Some of the lesser-known heritage sites

Unesco has about 2,000 locations on their list.

The vast military cemeteries of the First World War's Western Front serve as a poignant reminder of the tragedy of war. Photo: Toerisme Vlaanderen

When we think of World Heritage Sites, China's Great Wall, the Taj Mahal , Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza might be what come to mind.

But heritage is more than spectacular structures, beautiful architecture and popular tourist attractions.

To be added to the World Heritage List , the UN culture agency requires something more.

The World Heritage Convention, first adopted by the UN in 1972, defines heritage as “our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration”.

As we mark World Heritage Day, here are some of the more unusual – and thought-provoking – sites on the World Heritage Convention register of 1,999 sites.

ESMA Museum and Place of Memory, Buenos Aires, Argentina

On the surface, the officers' quarters of the Navy School of Mechanics in Buenos Aires is a largely unremarkable complex of administrative buildings, several kilometres from the centre of the Argentinian capital.

However, from 1976 to 1983, it was a place of torture, detention and murder for thousands of women who were left-wing political opponents of the country's military dictatorship.

Known as “the disappeared”, the babies of pregnant victims were adopted by couples sympathetic to the regime.

It has now been converted into a museum documenting those years, classified as “a place of memory”.

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Alberta, Canada

The Blackfoot tribe of Native Americans hunted for thousands of years by driving buffalo to their deaths over a 10 metre cliff in Canada.

Excavations of the layers of animal bones discovered at the site was used for more than 5,000 years, with men of the tribe dressing as wolves and coyotes to panic the animals.

The site now commemorates the lives of the indigenous people of what is now Canada, with a museum devoted to Blackfoot culture.

The name does not refer to how buffalo were killed, but a legend in which a young warrior was caught up in the stampede and found dead on the rocks below with a crushed skull.

Struve Arc Triangulation Point, Hammerfest, Norway

A chain of triangulation points stretching over 10 countries and about 3,000 kilometres, the Struve Arc was created between 1816 and 1855 to determine the meridian arc or curvature of the Earth.

It is named after its creator, Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, a German-born Russian scientist who placed the initial points in Sweden, Norway and the Russian Empire.

More than 30 of the triangulation points survived, including the northernmost one in Hammerfest, Norway, marked by a pillar of polished granite topped with a bronze globe.

It was designated a World Heritage Site in 2005 as an example of scientific achievement and co-operation between countries.

Rwanda’s genocide memorial sites

Four sites commemorate the Rwandan genocide of 1994, in which about one million people, mainly Tutsi tribe members, were killed by armed gangs.

Each site marks different aspects of the genocide; a church in Nyamata and a technical school in Murambi are the sites of two of the worst killings, while Gisozi Hill marks the Kigali Genocide Memorial built in 1999. More than 250,000 victims are buried at the site.

Another hill, at Bisesero, is where 40,000 died after resisting their attackers for two months.

Added as a World Heritage Site last year, the Rwandan sites are designated a “place of memory” by Unesco.

Bamiyan Buddhas, Afghanistan

While covering the larger Bamiyan valley, the site is best known for two gigantic statues of Buddha, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.

As such, this World Heritage Site was added in 2003 as an example of the region’s Buddhist art and architecture.

The new Taliban government has promised to conserve what remains.

Semmering Railway, Austria

The Semmering Railway is regarded as the world’s first mountain railway line, opening in 1854 and crossing more than 40km of the Austrian Alps.

An extraordinary feat of high-altitude construction, it runs between Gloggnitz and Murzzuschlag, climbing 450 metres, passing through 14 tunnels and crossing 16 viaducts. New engines had to be developed to deal with the arduous terrain.

Its designation as a World Heritage Site in 1998 is a tribute to its durability and also the way the line integrates with the natural landscape.

Visitors can buy a ticket from Austria's Southern Railway, which continues to run trains 170 years later.

Robben Island, South Africa

Robben Island, just off the coast of Cape Town, is best known for the prison in which Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years until 1982.

Noted for its harsh conditions, the prison complex included a rock quarry where prisoners were ordered to work.

Mandela was moved to the mainland, with his release in 1990 marking the end of Apartheid. He was elected as president of South Africa in 1994.

The island is now a popular tourist attraction, with 1,500 visitors a day, most of whom visit Mandela's sparsely decorated cell. The island was made a World Heritage Site in 1999.

Dutch water defence lines

The Dutch water defence lines are among the largest World Heritage sites and stretch for 200km, protecting cities including Amsterdam.

Constructed between the early 19th century and 1914, they consist of a series of canals, dykes, gates and land reclaimed from the sea that could be flooded to create water fortifications in times of war.

However, the advent of aerial warfare rendered the system largely useless by the Second World War.

Many elements survive as remarkable examples of how the Dutch used hydraulics in a country where much of the coastal land is below sea level. The lines were designated by Unesco in 1996.

Funeral and memorial sites of the western front

The vast military cemeteries of the First World War’s western front serve as a poignant reminder of the tragedy of war.

Located in France and Belgium, the 139 cemeteries and memorials mark the final resting place of soldiers killed in the conflict.

The Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium is one of the largest, with rows of tombstones marking the graves of about 12,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers. Douaumont Ossuary in France is a memorial to the 250,000 French and German soldiers who died in the Battle of Verdun.

Added as a World Heritage site last year, Unesco says they “represent a heritage that almost literally belongs to the whole world, spreading a message of reconciliation that is still very topical”.

Surtsey Island, Iceland

One of the most remote and least visited World Heritage Sites, Surtsey Island did not exist until November 14, 1963, when a volcanic eruption burst to the surface of the Atlantic, just off the coast of Iceland.

Over the next four years, the accumulation of volcanic ash created an island now about 1.3 square kilometres, with a peak of 155 metres.

Only a handful of scientists are allowed to visit the island, named after Surtr, a Norse fire giant. The island has been allowed to develop without human interference as a study of how plant and animal life arrives in a natural environment.

Designated a World Heritage Site in 2008, Surtsey is eroding gradually. It is expected to disappear completely this century.