Hekla is Iceland's most active
volcano; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano
since 874. During the Middle Ages, Icelanders called the volcano
the "Gateway to Hell." Eruptions in Hekla are extremely
varied and difficult to predict. Some are very short (a week
to ten days) whereas others can stretch into months and years
(the 1947 eruption started March 29 and ended April 1948). But
there is a general correlation: the longer Hekla goes dormant,
the larger and more catastrophic its opening eruption will be |