Al Jazeera English published this video item, entitled “Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall erupts, lighting up sky near Reykjavik” – below is their description.
A volcano erupted just 40km (25 miles) from Iceland’s capital Reykjavik on Friday, with red lava spewing out of the ground and a crimson glow lighting up the night sky.
The eruption of a long-dormant volcano in Iceland that sent streams of lava across a valley near the capital is easing.
It is the first eruption in the southwest region in almost 800 years.
The fissure and lava flows are bringing back memories of the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in 2010.
Then, a huge plume of ash shut down much of Europe’s airspace and caused travel chaos for almost a month.
Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands reports.
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Al Jazeera English YouTube Channel
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In This Story: Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, with a population of 356,991 and an area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle.
Iceland’ gained independence in 1918 and founded a republic in 1944. Although its parliament (Althing) was suspended from 1799 to 1845, the island republic has been credited with sustaining the world’s oldest and longest-running parliament.
Hit hard by the worldwide financial crisis, the nation’s entire banking system systemically failed in October 2008, leading to an economic crisis and the collapse of the country’s three largest banks. By 2014, the Icelandic economy had made a significant recovery, in large part due to a surge in tourism.
Iceland has the smallest population of any NATO member and is the only one with no standing army, with a lightly armed coast guard.
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