I 
ICELAND, 
fun was darkened and appeared like blood, the whole face 
of nature leeming to be changed; and this bbfcurity 
feems to have reached as far as the ifland of Britain; for 
during the whole lhmmer of 1783, an obfcurity reigned 
throughout all parts of this ifland ; the atmofphere ap¬ 
pearing to be covered with a continual haze, which pre¬ 
vented the fun from appearing with his ufual fplendour. 
The dreadful fcene above defcribed lafted in Iceland for 
feveral days ; the whole country was laid wafte, and the 
inhabitants fled every where to the remoteft parts of their 
iniferable country, to feek for fafety from the fury of this 
unparalleled tempeft. 
On the firft breaking out of the Are, the river Skapta 
was confiderably. augmented, on the ealt fide of which one 
of the fire-fpouts was fituated ; and a fimilar overflow of 
water was obferved at the fame time in the great river 
Piorfa, which runs into the fea a little to the eaftward of 
a town called Grrcbakka, and into which another river 
called Tuna, after having run through a large trafl of bar¬ 
ren and uncultivated land, empties itfelf. But on the 
■nth of June the waters of the Skapta were leflened, and 
in lefs than twenty-four hours totally dried up. The day 
following, a prodigious fiream of liquid and red-hot lava, 
which the fire-fpout had difcharged, ran down the chan¬ 
nel of the river. This burning torrent not only filled up 
the deep channel above-mentioned, but, overflowing the 
banks of it, lpread itfelf over the whole valley, covering 
all the low grounds in its neighbourhood ; and, not hav¬ 
ing any l'ufncient outlet to empty itfelf by, it rofe to a 
vait height, fo that the whole adjacent country was over¬ 
flowed, infinuating itfelf between the hills, and covering 
fome of the lower ones. The hills here are not continued 
in a long chain or leries, but are feparated from one ano¬ 
ther, and detached, and between them run little rivulets 
or brooks ; fo that, befides filling up the whole valley in 
which the river Skapta ran, the fiery ftream fpread itfelf 
for a confiderable diltance on each fide, getting vent be¬ 
tween the above-mentioned hills, and laying all the neigh¬ 
bouring country under fire. The fpouts ftill continuing 
to fupply frefli quantities of inflamed matter, the lava 
took its courle up the channel of the river, overflowing 
all the grounds above, as it had done thofe below the 
place whence it ifiued. The river was dried tip before it, 
until at lad it was flopped by the hill whence the Skapta 
takes its rife. Finding now' no proper outlet, it rofe to a 
prodigious height, and overflowed the village of Buland, 
confuming the houfes, church, and every thing that flood 
in its way; though the high ground on which this village 
flood feemed to enfure it from any danger of this kind. 
The fiery lake. Hill increafing, fpread itfelf out in length 
and breadth for about thirty-fix Englifli miles; and, hav¬ 
ing converted all this -traft of land into a fea of fire, it 
ftretched itfelf towards the fouth, and, getting vent again 
by the river Skapta, ruflied down its channel with great 
impetuolity. It was ltill confined between the narrow 
banks of that liver for about fix miles (Englifh ;) but, 
coming at laft into a more open place, it poured forth 
in prodigious torrents with amazing velocity and force ; 
lpreading itfelf now towards the fouth, tearing up the 
earth, and carrying on its furface flaming woods and what- 
foever it met with. In its courle it laid wafte another 
large diftricl of land. The ground where it came was 
cracked, and fent forth great quantities of fleam long be¬ 
fore the fire reached it; and every thing near the lake was 
either burnt up or reduced to a fluid flate. In this fitua- 
tion matters remained from the 12th of June to the 13th 
Augufl; after which the fiery lake no longer fpread it¬ 
felf, but neverthelefs continued to burn ; and, when any 
part of the furface acquired a cruft by cooling, it was 
quickly broken by the fire from below; and this, tum¬ 
bling down among the melted fubftance, was rolled and 
toiled about with prodigious noife and crackling ; and in 
many parts of its furface, Email fpouts or at leal! ebulli¬ 
tions were formed, which continued for fome length of 
time. 
Voj.. X. No. 708,' 
729 - 
In other dire&ions this dreadful inundation proved no 
lefs deftruftive. Having run through the narrow part of 
the channel of Skapta as early as the 12th of June, it 
ftretched out itfelf towards the weft and fouth-weft, over¬ 
flowing all the fiat country, and its edge being no lefs 
than feventy fathoms high at the time it got out of the 
channel of the river. Continuing its deftructive courle, 
it overflowed a number of villages, running in every di¬ 
rection where if could find a vent. In one place it came 
to a great cataraft of the river Skapta, about fourteen fa¬ 
thoms in height, over which it was precipitated with tre¬ 
mendous noife, and thrown in great quantities to a very 
confiderable diftance. In another place it flopped up the; 
channel of a large river, filled a great valley, and deftroy- 
ing two villages by approaching only within one hundred 
fathoms of them. Others were overflowed by inunda¬ 
tions of water proceeding from the rivers which had been 
flopped in their courfes ; until at laft all the pafiages on 
the fouth, eaft, and weft, being flopped, and the fpouts 
ftill fending up incredible quantities of frefft lava, it burst 
out to the north and north-eaft, fpreading over a tract of 
land forty-eight miles long and thirty-fix broad. Here 
it dried up the rivers Tuna and Axafyrdi; but even this 
vaft effufion being infufticient to exhauft the fubterratie- 
ous refources of liquid fire, a new branch took its-courle 
for about eight miles down the channel of the river II- 
werfisfliot, when, coming again to an open country, it 
formed what our author calls a J'inall lake of fire, about 
twelve miles in length and fix in breadth. At laft, however-, 
this branch alfo flopped on the 16th of Auguft; the fiery 
fountains ceafedto pour forth new fupplies, and this moll 
aftonifhing eruption came to a period. 
The whole extent of ground covered by this dreadful 
inundation was computed at no lefs than ninety miles 
long and forty-two in breadth ; the depth of the lava being 
from fixteen to twenty fathoms. Twelve rivers were dried 
up, twenty or twenty-one villages were deftroyed, and 
224. people loft their lives. The extent above-mentioned, 
however, is that only on the fouth, eaft, and weft; for that 
towards the north, being over uninhabited land, where no 
body cared to venture themfelves, was not exactly known. 
Some hills were covered by this lava; others were melted 
down by its heat; fo that the whole had the appearance 
of a fea of red-hot and melted metal. 
After this eruption, two new iflands were thrown up 
from the bottom of the fea. One, about three miles in 
circumference, and about a mile in height, made its ap¬ 
pearance in the month of February 1784., where there was 
formerly 100 fathoms water. It was about one hundred 
miles louth-weft from Iceland,and forty-eight fromaciufter 
of Email iflands called Gierfugla. It continued for fome 
time to burn with great violence, fending forth prodigi¬ 
ous quantities of pumice-ftones, land, &c. like other vol¬ 
canoes. The other lay to the north-weft, between Ice¬ 
land and Greenland. It burnt day and night without in- 
termiflion for a confiderable time; and was alfo very high, 
and larger than the former. Since that time, however, 
one or both of thefe iflands have been frvallowed up. 
All the time of this great eruption, and for a confider¬ 
able time after, the whole atmofphere was loaded with 
fmoke, fleam, and fulphureous vapours. The fun was 
fometimes wholly invifible; and when it could be feen 
was of a reddilh colour. Molt of the fiflieries were de¬ 
ftroyed ; the banks where the fifli ufed to refort being lb 
changed, that the filhermen could not know them again ; 
and the fmoke was lo thick, that they could not go far 
out to fea. The rain-water, falling through this lmoke 
and fteam, was fo impregnated with fait and lulphureous 
matter, that the hair and even the fkin of the cattle were 
deftroyed; and the whole grafs of the ifland was fo coV 
vered with foot and pitchy matter, that what had efcaped 
the deftruiflive effects of the fire became poifonous; lb 
that the cattle died for want of food, or perilhed by eat¬ 
ing thole unwholefome vegetables. Nor were the inha¬ 
bitants in a much better fituation; many of them having 
8 Z loft 
