Laki Volcanic Eruption Blights Europe

Historical Context Note

Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Domains

Geography (Physical)

Dates

Date of occurrence 1783-06-08

Places

Iceland (Location)
Europe (Involved)

Resources

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On June 8 1783 a 17-mile long crack appeared in the Grimsvotn volcanic complex in Iceland. Over the next eight months as many as 130 lava fountains nearly one mile high along the line of the crack poured out 3.6 cubic miles of lava, 120m tons of sulphur dioxide, and many millions of tons of fine dust. These plumes rose as high as ten miles. The Grimsvotn volcano at the centre of the complex continued to erupt violently until 1785.

The eruptions caused catastrophic climatic changes around the world: there were crop failures and droughts from Europe to India. The reduction in the flow of the Nile caused the death of about one sixth of the Egyptian population in 1784 and one of the coldest winters ever recorded in the United States. 80% of Iceland’s livestock died; 20% of Iceland’s human

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253 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "Laki Volcanic Eruption Blights Europe". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 April 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19365, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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