Description

Heimaey eruption 1973 postcard smoke column

This dramatic vintage postcard captures the explosive early phase of the Eldfell volcanic eruption on Heimaey (Vestmannaeyjar Islands) on January 23, 1973. The front shows a towering ash and smoke plume rising dramatically from the fissure, estimated at 18,000 feet (about 5–6 km) high, with pumice and tephra billowing into a clear blue sky over the rugged coastline and surrounding islets—highlighting the sudden, terrifying power of the event that began at around 2 a.m. and forced the evacuation of nearly all 5,300 residents.

The multilingual back (Icelandic, English, German) describes: “Frá gosínu á Heimaey, sem hófst kl. 2… 18.000 feet high column of smoke and pumice rising from a volcanic fissure… the eruption that began on January 23rd 1973.” Photo credit: Ólafur K. Magnússon. Printed and published by Litbrá hf., Reykjavík, Iceland, in cooperation with the Kiwanis Club Helgafell of the Vestmannaeyjar Islands to aid the inhabitants during recovery. Copyright 1973 (original 1973 issue). A powerful fundraising and commemorative item from the six-month eruption that reshaped the island, buried homes in ash, and famously saved the harbor through seawater pumping.