All language subtitles for Undiscovered Vistas Series 2 1of6 Iceland Land of Fire 1080p

Narrator: Iceland.

The world's largest
volcanic island.

Formed by fire.

Home to some of the world's
fiercest volcanoes.

>> for many, many years
it was actually a place

That people feared.

Considered being
the gateway to hell.

Narrator: A volcanic hotbed.

Where steam escapes.

Water explodes.

And new ground
is born every day.

From deep inside the
earth's blazing core.

>> the geology is alive here.

We have volcanic eruptions.
You can watch the lava moving.

You can watch the plumes come up
and so, it seems to be alive.

Narrator: Here, in one of
the world's most beautiful

And volatile places,
fire and ice collide.

>> many of the volcanoes
are underneath glaciers,

So when they erupt we have
this spectacular display

Of fire actually
coming out of the ice.

Narrator: It is an epic struggle
that makes iceland

The most geologically
powerful island on earth.

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April, 2010.

Eyjafjallajokull, an
800,000-year-old volcano in the

Southern reaches of iceland,
unleashes its terrible power.

For 39 days, eyjafjallajokull
spews ash toward the sky,

Creating a plume.

That soars more than six
miles into the atmosphere.

The mammoth cloud of ash
creeps across europe,

Bringing global air
travel to its knees.

Steffensen: Eyjafjallajokull is
by now our most famous volcano,

And mainly of course, because
of the problems that it caused

During its eruption in 2010,
when people were

Sitting in airports all over the
world cursing this mountain.

Narrator: Billions of dollars
are lost.

Technology is no match for the
most violent extremes of nature.

Steffensen: Looking at it was--
it was scary.

The mountain itself is big,
and you could clearly

Hear the explosions and the
rumble from this massive thing.

And the plume of ash, even
though the mountain was big,

It was dwarfing the
mountain underneath.

Looking at something so large,
and there's absolutely nothing

You can do about it,
is not a good feeling.

When nature takes over,
you just have to sit and wait.

Narrator: The eruption causes
flooding and destroys roads.

Farms are damaged.

Domestic animals poisoned
by the ash fall.

The cloud of ash that turned
air traffic on its head

Was the result of strong winds
and the titanic collision

Between fire and ice.

In icelandic,
eyjafjallajokull means

'the island's
mountain glacier'.

Steffensen: Many of the
volcanoes that we have or
places that erupt are

Underneath glaciers,
underneath thick sheets of ice.

So when they erupt, there is
kind of a battle where the heat

From the fire underneath is
melting its way through the ice.

Sometimes eventually making it
all the way through, and we have

This spectacular display of fire
actually coming out of the ice.

Narrator: This spectacular
display, the potent interaction
of magma

And the overlying ice cap,
transformed eyjafjallajokull

Into an international hazard.

Steffensen: When it started
erupting, the first thing
that happened

Was the heat from the magma

And the eruption started
melting the ice.

And most of the water went
flowing down the northern side

Of the mountain, but a lot of it
actually filled up the crater

Where the magma was coming out.

So the first thing that happened
when this red, glowing magma

Came out of the earth was that
it got in contact with water

And kind of exploded
into these tiny particles

That were so light that they
were projected all the way up

To the jet stream and all
over the world more or less.

Narrator: But by
icelandic terms,

Eyjafjallajokull was
not a major eruption.

Nor was it the first time that
one of iceland's volcanoes

Wrought havoc on the planet.

More than 200 years ago

A major eruption
devastated iceland.

The terrible effects of
which were also felt

Far beyond these shores.

It is a disaster that would
leave thousands dead

In its trail.

At laki, in south-central
iceland, lava, forced out

From a massive tear in the
earth and now solidified ,

Stretches as far as
the eye can see.

Now blanketed in thick, spongy
moss, this seemingly endless

Lava field is the result of a
colossal fissure eruption.

A disastrous volcanic event
that had catastrophic effects

Around the world.

The laki eruption
began on June 8, 1783

And lasted continuously
for more than eight months.

As the earth repeatedly
ripped open,

Terrifying amounts of lava
bubbled up through the crust.

So much, that it would
have buried dallas, texas

In more than 100 feet
of molten rock.

It is the second-greatest
lava flood on earth

In the last 1,000 years.

Steffensen: The laki eruptions,
which occurred in 1783,
were massive.

The ground split open,
there was a crack that opened

That was about
25 kilometers long.

And the amount of lava
and ash coming out of that

Was unbelievable.

The area that the lava ended
up covering by the time

It finally stopped was about
600 square kilometers.

It's difficult to
comprehend the size.

You basically have
to see it from the air

To realize how big it is.

The laki eruption also sent
more than 100 million tons

Of poisonous sulfur dioxide
into the atmosphere.

The deadly haze caused
iceland's harvest to fail,

Killed three-quarters of
its livestock, and plunged

The island into a bitter famine
that killed one in five people.

The thick fog that choked
iceland spread east over europe,

Creating a lingering haze
that blocked out the sun.

Steffensen: They actually
believe that this eruption
was one of the reasons

For the french revolution,
because there was so much ash

Coming out of the laki craters
that it ended up destroying

The crops in europe, so
people ended up rising up

And fighting their oppressors.

Narrator: Scientists believe
the lethal effects of laki

Were felt as far away
as india and japan.

An estimated two million people
died in its terrible aftermath.

The eruption at laki is one of
the deadliest in human history.

The wrath of
iceland's volcanoes

Has been felt outside
its borders.

But this is a country that
was built by volcanoes,

And to this day volcanoes
continue to shape the land.

Without volcanoes,
there would be no iceland.

Iceland lies in the middle of
the north atlantic ocean, about

200 miles east of greenland on
the edge of the arctic circle.

Mighty waterfalls
carve the savage landscape.

Stunning cliffs define 3,000
miles of jagged coastline.

At the ragged edge
of the world,

It is an island of extremes.

Just one-fifth of
this hostile, alien land

Is inhabited by humans.

Iceland is roughly the size
of cuba, but contains

Less than one-thirtieth
of its population.

It is one of the least-inhabited
countries on earth.

Despite the geothermal heat
boiling under its crust,

11 per cent of
iceland's landmass

Is covered by glaciers,

Including the world's
third-largest ice-cap:

Vatnajokull.

Rising above this icy world,
iceland's 30 active volcanoes

Generate one-third of the
world's terrestrial lava.

This frozen island is on fire.

But what makes this rugged
island, just 300 miles wide,

Such a frightening
volcanic force?

What inflames this lonely
outpost in the north atlantic?

Geological clues are everywhere.

At thingvellir plain in
the south-west of iceland,

A giant gash in the valley
floor bears witness

To the intense violence
that has shaped the island.

Saemundsen: We are standing
within a fault

That has been slowly moving
apart in the last 9,000 years.

This is a basaltic lava wall
that's been torn apart

From this one.

Some 9,000 years ago they were
together and as all the years

Have passed they are
slowly moving apart.

You think about the powers

That are needed to tear
apart this landscape.

That is mind-boggling
sometimes.

Narrator: Iceland is
tearing apart at the rate
of one inch per year,

About the same speed
that fingernails grow.

The island is getting larger.

Here, in this cracked valley,
something powerful is at work.

A geological juggernaut
that runs right through

The middle of the island:
The mid-atlantic ridge.

It's one of earth's
longest mountain chains,

Yet it's almost entirely
hidden beneath the sea.

The mid-atlantic ridge
starts roughly midway

Between south america
and africa

In the frigid south atlantic
ocean and extends north

For about 10,000 miles
to the arctic ocean.

In the north atlantic, it's the
boundary between north america

And eurasia: Two plates of land
that were once joined together.

Driven by forces
deep within the earth,

The continental plates tear
apart moving east and west,

Leaving a giant gash
in the earth's crust.

Magma surges up and spews
out onto the ocean floor.

As it cools, it forms
new oceanic crust,

Forcing the older crust
away inch by inch.

About 20 million years ago,
lava erupting from the

Mid-atlantic ridge
emerged above the waves

To create a new landform:
Iceland.

This otherworldly landscape
is essentially the sea floor

Pushed high above
the ocean surface.

Iceland straddles the dividing
line between the two plates.

It too is tearing apart.

The rift that splits
iceland in two

Runs from the southwest
to the northeast.

On the left, the
western part of the island

Belongs to the
north american plate,

The eastern part to
the eurasian plate.

Saemundsen: Here, you have
part of the north american
continent

That is drifting slowly to the
west and then, further out here,

We have the eurasian plate that
is slowly drifting to the east.

What you're looking into here

Is basically the side
of north america.

It's probably one of the
few places in the world

Where you can look
into the side of it.

Narrator: Iceland will
continue to grow, east to west,

As the plates spread apart.

On the blackened lava plains
of the reykjanes peninsula,

A 50-foot steel footbridge
spans a broad fissure.

The bridge, named for the
icelandic explorer leif erikson,

Allows visitors to symbolically
walk the distance

From eurasia to north america.

For more adventurous explorers
there are places in iceland

Where the edges of the north
american and eurasian continents

Are within touching distance.

The silfra tectonic fissure,
on the rim of thingvellir lake,

Provides a unique opportunity
for underwater explorers

To float between continents.

In the narrowest reaches of
the fissure, divers can touch

Both north america
and eurasia at once.

Vita: This is the only place in
the world where you can stand

In the north atlantic
dorsal rift.

It's a ridge that goes from
north to south through the whole

Atlantic ocean and it only rises
to the surface here in iceland.

So actually it's quite unique
because we are in between

Two tectonic plates
and we are standing.

Normally, you have to be 4,000
meters depth in the ocean

To stand in a place like this.

Narrator: The water in silfra is
among the clearest and cleanest

In the world, the
result of a remarkable

Natural filtration process.

Water trickles underground
from a melting glacier

30 miles north
of the dive site.

The glacial melt water
percolates down through

Porous lava rock before it wells
up from underground springs

Directly into silfra, a
process that can take

Between 30 and 50 years.

This naturally filtered,
crystal-clear water

Has made silfra one of the
world's top dive sites.

But with temperatures that hover
at 35 degrees year-round,

It's not for the
faint-of-heart.

Vita: Diving in silfra
is not easy at all.

It's quite cold and
it's quite demanding.

Your body needs to burn a
lot of energy to stay warm.

More than one hour is not
recommended, not even with

The best of the suits, because
you lose your heat very fast.

It's very cold and
it can be dangerous.

Besides the cold and the dry
suit, it's a fissure which is

Very narrow, so it can be a
little bit claustrophobic.

You need a lot of gear,
a lot of weight,

So it's not the easiest dive
in the world, to be honest.

But once you put your face in
the water and you get to see

How clear the water is,
everything is worth it.

Everything makes sense.

Narrator: At grjotagja,
in the north of iceland,

Another clear sign that the
earth is being ripped apart.

But deep inside this dark abyss

Is a surprisingly
inviting natural wonder.

It's a world away
from the frigid waters

Of the silfra fissure.

An alluring hot spring beckons,

Heated by magma
deep within the earth.

Water in this
shimmering cave pool

Simmers at more than 120
degrees, too hot for bathing.

Hot springs like this are
pivotal to understanding

How the island formed.

Iceland is an
on-shore continuation

Of the mid-atlantic ridge,
one of the few places

Where this drowned mountain
chain reaches the surface.

But what caused it,
and the island as a whole,

To rise more than a mile
above the ocean floor?

The answer lies with a
second geological force

As indestructible as the rift
that tears iceland in two:

Its inner fires, fueled by a
hot spot deep within the earth.

There are more active
volcanoes in iceland

Than anywhere else on earth.

On average, the
country experiences

A major eruption
every five years.

The most forbidding of
iceland's volcanoes, hekla,

Towers 5000 feet over a
landscape lain bare by lava.

Steffensen: Hekla is special
in a way because --

Because of the frequency
of the eruptions there.

And since the settlement, we've
had about 20 eruptions there.

Some of the eruptions have
been absolutely enormous,

Creating just catastrophic
situations around it,

Killing people and burying
farms in ash and pumice.

So, for many, many years
it was actually a place

That people feared.

It was considered being
the gateway to hell

And no one wanted
to go close to it.

Narrator: Hekla lies alongside
the mid-atlantic ridge.

A massive fissure similar
to the fractures found in

Thingvellir valley tears through
the centre of the volcano.

When hekla erupted
in the year 2000,

The earth unzipped along
the fissure, unleashing

A flow of lava more
than four miles long.

The lava formed mountains,

Each of which has its
origins deep underground.

Iceland sits on what's known as
a hot spot: A plume of scorching

Molten rock believed to be 100
miles wide and 400 miles deep.

Lava erupting from
the hot spot cooled

And accumulated to build
the island above the sea.

Over 20 million years, iceland
has grown from a tiny seamount

Into the world's largest
volcanic island.

Thordarson: We have an
unusual amount of volcanic
activity in iceland.

So the volcanoes are producing
more magma, molten rock,

Than in most other places.

Therefore, it's piling
up more material.

And that all helps keep
iceland above sea level.

If we wouldn't have this,

Iceland would be 2000 meters
under the sea.

Narrator: The volcanic
process that built iceland
continues today.

As volcanoes erupt, and magma
from deep within the earth

Rises to the surface
to create new land,

Iceland is forever
being reborn.

On the snaefellsnes peninsula,

The most westerly point of
iceland, a volcanic cave

Traces the path of a lava flow
more than 100 feet underground.

Lava-tube caves like this form

When the surface of
flowing lava cools.

Molten rock solidifies along
the sides of the lava river

And a hard crust forms on top.

Hot lava flows through
this pipeline,

Streaming up from
deep in the earth.

When the eruption stops,
the lava ceases to flow,

Leaving behind a hollow tube.

Different colors on the walls
of the cave record the history

Of eruptions: Layers of lava
piled one on top of the other

Over thousands of years.

Thordarson:
The geology is alive here.

We have volcanic eruptions.
You can watch the lava moving.

You can watch the plumes come
up, and so it seems to be alive.

Narrator: Nowhere is this living
breathing earth more evident

Than here, in the
southern lowlands

Where the earth's
inner fires boil over.

Strokkur, a powerful fountain
cast from deep within the earth,

Soars into the
icelandic twilight.

In this pool, geysir, the
first natural geyser known to

Europeans, now lies dormant
on this geothermal plain.

In icelandic, the word
'geysa' means 'to gush'.

It is from this place that the
world's geysers take their name.

Strokkur is far more active,

Erupting every eight
to 10 minutes.

The geyser explodes from
vents in the earth's surface

That run deep into the crust.

These hydrothermal eruptions are
the result of cold rainwater

Seeping down through fractured
bedrock onto hot volcanic rock.

The water trapped
underground is super-heated

And converts to vapor
that would normally fill

1,600 times more space than
the original volume of water.

But it remains trapped
under intense pressure.

The steam explodes from
this subterranean furnace,

Passing through liquid
groundwater near the surface,

Jetting more than
60 feet into the air.

On the flank of
an active volcano,

Steaming fumaroles hiss
into the cold atlantic sky.

Fumaroles are vents
in the earth's crust,

Similar to geysers, yet they
only emit steam, not water,

And volcanic gases
such as hydrogen sulfide.

Superheated to temperatures
as high as 280 degrees,

The cool groundwater
deep within this system

Has entirely
transformed to vapor.

Hydrogen sulfide
rising through surface water

Produces sulfuric acid,
strong enough to dissolve

The surrounding rock and soil
to create boiling mudpots.

Sulfurous steam clouds
and colorful minerals

In the ground paint
the geothermal field

With an almost
extraterrestrial beauty.

But there's real danger here.

Visitors who venture too
close risk breaking through

The fragile mineral crust
and scalding themselves

In the boiling pools.

Sulfur is one of the elements

Often found deposited
at hot springs.

In previous centuries,

The sulfur was mined in
iceland to make gunpowder.

Today, icelanders harness
natural resources

For their own needs: Boring
into the ground for the steam

That spins turbines to
generate geothermal power.

Steffensen: The geothermal
power plants that we have

Produce about 30 percent of the
energy that we have in iceland.

Of course it's brilliant to
be able to produce energy

In a green way like that.

There's no, or hardly any
pollution and it's a very

Green way to keep life
in iceland going.

There's always the downside
that in order to create those

Power plants you have to build
structures and you have to

Drill and you have to have
pipes on the surface.

So there are mixed emotions when
it comes to these power plants.

Narrator: Iceland's two mighty
geological powers,

The mid-atlantic ridge and
the deep icelandic hotspot,

Create a dangerous volcanic
force capable of generating

More land-based lava than
any place else on earth.

Saemundsen: We are on the
mid-atlantic ridge, but
it's above water

Because the hot mantle plume is
pushing it above the sea level.

So, all of iceland in a way,
when you drive around iceland,

You see mountains and hills.

They're all the result of
some volcanic activity

At some point in time.

So, iceland is one big volcano.

Narrator: South-central
iceland is the site of
the greatest lava flood

Of the last 1,000 years.

Cutting through the
lava field is eldgja,

The largest volcanic
canyon on the planet.

Five miles long.

1300 feet wide.

500 feet deep.

The canyon's flat
bottom confirms

That it isn't a valley
carved by water.

It was formed by
a more fiery power.

In icelandic, eldgja
means 'canyon of fire'.

It's part of an eruptive fissure
that stretches for 45 miles.

The canyon appeared in 934 ad

During an extremely
violent eruption.

Far more powerful than
the laki lava flow in 1783

That killed 20 per cent
of iceland's population.

But this lava didn't
erupt from a circular crater.

Instead, fountains of basalt
lava spewed from a thin fissure

In the earth's crust
nearly 20 miles long,

An unusual but natural
phenomenon found along

The entire underwater stretch
of the mid-atlantic ridge.

The eruption likely
lasted for years.

More than three
cubic miles of basalt lava

Oozed from the fissure,
spreading across a lava field

That covers more
than 250 square miles.

The largest lava field the earth
has known since the ice age.

In iceland, large eruptions
like laki and eldgja

Occur every few hundred years.

The chances of another
catastrophic volcanic event

Are highly likely.

Icelanders still live under
constant threat of eruptions,

Which occur on
average every five years.

In the shadow of volcanoes,
people have learned to adapt.

Most live on the
edge of the island,

In coastal towns and cities.

Rural areas are
largely uninhabited

Except for those where
the land can be farmed.

Steffensen: The volcanoes are
not close to cities or towns.

So the people living closest
to them are usually farmers

And they and their families

Have been living there
for generations.

They know that
these things are there.

They know that they might
erupt every now and then.

Narrator: Hekla, one of
iceland's most-active volcanoes,

Erupts almost without warning.

Seismic activity at hekla was
detected less than 90 minutes

Prior to four eruptions
in the late 20th century.

Geologists monitor
unrest in hekla,

Looking for telltale signs
of a possible eruption.

Thordarson: We do monitor
them and they monitor

The icelandic volcanoes
very closely.

Basically, it measures the
deformation of the ground.

As magma comes in, it
will lift the ground up

And change its sort of
orientation and deform it.

And so that's one way of
detecting something happening

Underneath the volcano.

Steffensen: These volcanoes that
are close to where people live

Are monitored quite
carefully so that scientists

And the authorities can predict
if something is going to happen

And they can issue warnings.

But usually when they do so,
if they do issue warnings,

The farmers, they already
know, because they can

Judge by the behavior
of their animals.

They seem to sense
this way before we do.

Narrator: In the southern
highlands, the mountains
of landmannalaugar

Form one of iceland's
most striking and beautiful

Natural wonders.

The mountains were built from
rhyolite, a lava rich in silica,

Which cools slowly
after it erupts.

Rhyolite has the same
mineral composition as granite,

Which cools deep
within the earth.

Iron oxide in the rock creates
these multicolored peaks.

Landmannalaugar rests on the
edge of a rambling lava field

Formed by an eruption
in the late 15th century.

It too glitters with rhyolite.

The caramel-colored mountains
that surround the lava field

Are the starting point
of an epic four-day trek

Through the highlands.

It's considered one of
the world's finest hikes.

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Author of the hobbit
and the lord of the rings,

Was fascinated by iceland.

These southern highlands
are believed to have inspired

The landscape of middle earth.

In the northeast of iceland,
the twisted rock towers

Of dimmuborgir rise like ruined
citadels over a field of lava.

This remarkable,
sinister domain,

Also reminiscent of tolkien, was
sculpted by a volcanic eruption

More than 2,000 years ago.

Lava flowing from a large
explosion to the east

Pooled over a small lake,
trapping the water underneath.

The lake boiled as if on fire,

Sending columns
of steam skyward.

Molten rock wrapped
around the vapor plumes.

When the lava cooled and
its top crust collapsed,

Only these hollow pillars
of solidified lava remained.

These columns of mangled
rock rise as high as 100 feet.

Church-like structures also
formed around bubbles of vapor

Are large enough
to harbor humans.

In icelandic, dimmuborgir
means 'dark castles'.

The site was long believed
to be the meeting point

Between earth
and the netherworld.

According to nordic christian
lore, satan landed here

After being cast
from the heavens

And created these bulging
'catacombs of hell'.

But amid the tangled darkness
there is simple beauty.

Dimmuborgir
blooms with thickets,

Alpine plants and moss.

Each time the volcano
wields its destructive power,

The ground heals and
new life springs again.

Iceland's volcanoes blast.

Burn.

And melt.

Bringing to bear
unthinkable chaos.

But occasionally,
lava spills from the earth

To create formations
so uniform, so ordered,

That they appear man-made.

At reynisfjara, iceland's
southernmost beach,

Thousands of basalt
columns stand tall,

300 feet above
the slate-grey sand.

The question that has
puzzled people for centuries:

How did a volcano produce such
precise geometric structures?

The answer comes
down to physics.

Thordarson:
Columns form because

When the liquid lava
cools down, it contracts.

And so, the solid lava is--
has a volume that's roughly

10 percent less than the liquid
lava and so it accommodates

For this volume change
by forming these joints

That are demarcated
as columnar joints.

So they form the columns
because of this contraction,

And they're usually
hexagonal in form.

Narrator: These hexagonal
basalt columns appear
throughout the world:

In washington and wyoming
in the united states,

And at the giant's causeway
in northern ireland.

The process that
forms columnar basalt

Is part of the ongoing
creation of iceland,

A powerful island
forever renewing itself
through volcanic unrest.

The geological violence
that built iceland

Is also tearing it apart.

The earth rips open.

The ground hisses.

And volcanoes explode.

And the power that burns
deep within our planet

Continues its unrelenting
drive to escape.

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