| Hekla | |
| Elevation M: | 1488 |
| Translation: | Hooded |
| Language: | Icelandic |
| Location: | Iceland |
| Map: | Iceland |
| Relief: | 1 |
| Map Size: | 200 |
| Label Position: | right |
| Coordinates: | 63.9922°N -19.6658°W |
| Last Eruption: | February to March 2000 |
| First Ascent: | Eggert Ólafsson, Bjarni Pálsson, 20 June 1750[1] |
Hekla (pronounced as /is/), or Hecla,[2] [3] is an active stratovolcano in the south of Iceland with a height of 14910NaN0. Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano since the year 1210. During the Middle Ages, the Icelandic Norse called the volcano the "Gateway to Hell" and the idea spread over much of Europe.
The volcano's frequent large and often initially explosive eruptions have covered much of Iceland with tephra, and these layers can be used to date eruptions of Iceland's other volcanoes. Approximately 10% of the tephra created in Iceland in the last thousand years has come from Hekla, amounting to 5km3. Cumulatively, the volcano has produced one of the largest volumes of lava of any in the world in the last millennium, around 8km3.
In Icelandic Hekla is the word for a short hooded cloak, which may relate to the frequent cloud cover on the summit. An early Latin source refers to the mountain as Mons Casule.[4]
After the eruption of 1104, stories, probably spread deliberately through Europe by Cistercian monks, told that Hekla was the gateway to Hell.[5] The Cistercian monk Herbert of Clairvaux wrote in his De Miraculis (without naming Hekla): A poem by the monk Benedeit from about the voyages of Saint Brendan mentions Hekla as the prison of Judas.In the Flatey Book Annal it was recorded that during the 1341 eruption, people saw large and small birds flying in the mountain's fire which were taken to be souls.[6] In the 16th century Caspar Peucer wrote that the Gates of Hell could be found in "the bottomless abyss of Hekla Fell". The belief that Hekla was the gate to Hell persisted until the 19th century.[7] There is still a legend that witches gather on Hekla during Easter.
Hekla is part of a volcanic ridge, 400NaN0 long. The most active part of this ridge, a fissure about 5.51NaN1 long named Icelandic: Heklugjá in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈhɛhklʏˌcauː/, is considered to be within Hekla proper. Hekla looks rather like an overturned boat, with its keel being a series of craters, two of which are generally the most active.[8] [9]
Hekla has a morphological type between that of a fissure vent and stratovolcano (built from mixed lava and tephra eruptions) sited at a rift-transform junction in the area where the south Iceland seismic zone and eastern volcanic zone meet. The unusual form of Hekla is found on very few volcanoes around the world, notably Callaqui in Chile. The 5.5km (03.4miles) Heklugjá fissure opens along its entire length during major eruptions and is fed by a magma reservoir estimated to have a top 4km (02miles) below the surface with centroid 2.5km (01.6miles) lower. The chamber extends to an unusual depth of more than 10km (10miles),[10] and the more silicic lavas have matured at more than .[11]
Many of the eruptions commence with thicker more explosive rhyolite, dacite or andesite eruptives which create tephra and have the potential for pyroclastic flows.[10] [11] Other or the later part of eruptions come from thinner basalt tending magma which forms lava fields.[10]
The tephra produced by its eruptions is high in fluorine, which is poisonous to animals. Hekla's basaltic andesite lava generally has a SiO2 content of over 54%, compared to the 45–50% of other nearby transitional alkaline basalt eruptions (see TAS classification).[12] It is the only Icelandic volcano to produce calc-alkaline lavas.[13] Phenocrysts in Hekla's lava can contain plagioclase, pyroxene, titanomagnetite, olivine, and apatite.
When not erupting Hekla is often covered with snow and small glaciers; it is also unusually aseismic with activity only starting 30–80 minutes before an eruption.[14] Hekla is located on the mid-ocean ridge, a diverging plate boundary.Hekla is closely studied today for parameters such as strain, tilt, deformation and other movement and seismic activity.[15] Earthquakes in the volcano's vicinity are generally below magnitude 2 while it is dormant and magnitude 3 when erupting.
The earliest recorded eruption of Hekla took place in 1104. Since then there have been between twenty and thirty considerable eruptions, with the mountain sometimes remaining active for periods of six years with little pause. Eruptions in Hekla are varied and difficult to predict. Precursor seismic activity may only be for a couple of hours or less.[11] Some are very short (a week to ten days) whereas others can stretch into months and years (the 1947 eruption started 29 March 1947 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. The most recent eruption was on 26 February 2000.
One of the largest Holocene eruptions in Iceland was the Hekla 3 (or H3) eruption,[16] which threw about 7.3km3 of volcanic rock into the atmosphere, placing its Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) at 5. This would have cooled temperatures in the northern parts of the globe for a few years afterwards. Traces of this eruption have been identified in Scottish peat bogs, and in Ireland a study of tree rings dating from this period has shown negligible tree ring growth for a decade.[17] The dates were recently recalibrated of the major eruptions and a table is given below as the difference in dates could cause confusion.
| Eruption | Year (2019 values) | Year (2024 values) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| H-5 | 5050 BCE | ± 260 BCE | |
| H-Sv | 3900 BCE[18] [19] | 3900 BCE | |
| H-4 | 2310 ± 20 BCE | 2375 ± 8 BCE | |
| H-3 | 950 BCE | ± 140 BCE |
Hekla 3, 4, and 5 produced huge amounts of rhyolitic ash and tephra, covering 80% of Iceland[21] and providing useful date markers in soil profiles in other parts of Europe such as Orkney,[22] Scandinavia,[23] and elsewhere.[24] H3 and H4 produced the largest layers of tephra in Iceland since the last ice age. During the last 7,000 years, one third of the volcanic ash deposited in Scandinavia, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom originated from Hekla.[25]
The eruption occurred over a century after the last eruption of Hekla proper, the longest dormant period since 1104. Before the eruption the volcano had been visible from the surrounding area but nothing remarkable was noticed. The eruption occurred at 6:41 am ± 3 min with a loud roar; later eruptions could be heard throughout Iceland. An earthquake at 6:50 am measured 6 on the Mercalli intensity scale and increased the eruption intensity until it covered a 4km (02miles) fissure on the ridge. The cloud from the eruption had ascended to a height of 30 km by 7:08 am, the wind then carried it southwards towards Eyjafjallajökull, turning it black. Pumice first landed on Fljótshlíð at around 7:10 am, and tephra and ash continued falling until it formed a 3cm-10cmcm (01inches-00inchescm) layer. A lava bomb that landed 32km (20miles) from Hekla was 0.5m (01.6feet) across and weighed 20kg (40lb). Between Vatnafjöll and Hekla, a layer of tephra up to 1m (03feet) thick was deposited, and this included bombs with a diameter larger than 0.5m (01.6feet). Bombs with surface areas of 50m2 were dropped onto the slopes of Hekla, for up to 1km (01miles). 51 hours after the eruption had started, ash fell on Helsinki, Finland, having covered 2860km (1,780miles) in this time.
The initial tephra production rate in the first 30 minutes of the eruption was 75,000 m3·s−1, dropping to 22,000 m3·s−1 for the next half-hour. The initial phase produced 0.18km3 of tephra, equating to 45000000km3 of Dense-rock equivalent, covering 3130km2 of land and sea. 98 farms were damaged by the eruption, but only 2 were no longer farmed in 1970. A large volunteer effort was mobilized to clear the tephra – around 1000 man-days by the end of July. The eruption produced around 3ML of water (snowmelt and directly from the fissure) which caused flooding of the Ytri Rangá river.
In the first 20 hours of the eruption approximately 3,500 m3·s−1 of lava was produced from the fissure, dividing into various branches and covering 12km215km2. On the second day, 8 distinct eruption columns were discernible. A crater formed at 860m (2,820feet) called the Lava Crater (Hraungígur), producing a constant flow of lava. Another crater named the Shoulder Crater (Axlargígur) produced a column of smoke every 10 seconds together with loud explosions that created visible compression waves in the smoke. By the fourth, fifth, and sixth days, the eruption was greatly diminished, and only the shoulder and summit craters were erupting explosively.
The explosive eruption increased in strength from 9–12 April and then from 28 April it reduced again. On 3 May, the volcano stopped throwing out lava in sudden explosions from its craters and changed to continuously ejecting tephra and ash for long periods, until early June when this reduced. On 2 September, the Shoulder Crater had a 960m (3,150feet) circumference at its top and the Summit Crater a 700m (2,300feet)circumference at its highest point, 90m (300feet) above the ridge. Sandy tephra and ash fell over Iceland in May and June, sometimes making it dark in the daytime near Hekla. The tephra caused fluorine poisoning of grazing sheep, making them unable to walk. That winter more craters formed, building up cones. Explosive activity had ceased six months after the first eruption. Lava flowed from the Lava Crater continuously during the eruption, starting at a rate of over 100 m3·s−1, dropping to 5–10 m3·s−1 in April and early May at a speed of around 20 cm·s−1 before increasing, eventually reaching 150 m3·s−1 at the end of June and at similar levels until mid-July with a peak flow speed of 2–2.5 m·s−1. From there it gradually decreased to under 10 m3·s−1 in November. Initially the lava comprised 57–58% SiO2 and 11% Fe2O3, from the time of peak flow onwards this changed to 54% SiO2 and 13.5% Fe2O3.
The lava river sometimes ran through lava tubes before emerging again. The lava front had a height of up to 15m (49feet). On 15 and 16 June, a branch of lava flow to the south of Melfell traveled over 1km (01miles) in 30 hours before slowing and stopping by 21 June, 7.8km (04.8miles) from the Lava Crater. The longest lava stream produced was 8km (05miles) long and stopped in Stóraskógsbotnar. A scientist filming one of the lava streams on 2 November was hit by a block of lava and was killed.[35]
The lava flow stopped after 13 months on 21 April, having covered 40km2 and with a maximum depth of 100m (300feet). The lava beds produced were mainly the ʻAʻā lava type with Pāhoehoe and lava a budella (lava tubes) areas. In April and May 1948 CO2 emitted from cracks in the ground pooled in hollows near to Hekla, killing 15 sheep and some wild animals and birds. In total of CO2 was emitted. Ditches were dug by farmers to drain these hollows, and the CO2 emission had stopped by the end of the year.[36]
The main Hekla fissure only erupted at its far southwest end, most of the eruption was from other fissures nearby. The eruption stopped in the south-southwest on 10 May and in Hlídargígar on 20 May, but a new fissure opened on the same day and lava flowed from this until 5 July. The lava was andesite containing olivine, similar to the lava produced later in the eruption of 1947.[37]
Before the eruption, a greater than normal amount of snow melting had occurred, indicating the volcano was heating up. Earth tremors began at 8:48 pm on the evening of the eruption; the largest had a magnitude of 4. The eruption started weakly at 9:23 pm IMT ± 2 min before increasing in power. The first pumice fell on Búrfell power station, 15km (09miles) away, at 9:35 pm causing people to evacuate. The eruption seems to have started in two locations at the same time – to the Shoulder crater's south-southwest and below the Lava Crater. At 10:30 pm a crater at 780m (2,560feet) was producing a lava column which reached an altitude of around 1km (01miles). During the night a 700m (2,300feet) high lava fountain was thrown up from the main crater. A 500m (1,600feet) long fissure starting below the Lava Crater opened, and lava fountains and other lava flows emanated from it. One hour into the eruption, a new 400m (1,300feet) fissure opened to the northeast, producing two main lava fountains, and shortly after another adjoining fissure opened producing lava fountains to a height of 500m (1,600feet). At around midnight, another fissure opened northwest of the Lava Crater, later hurling an over 300m (1,000feet) long lava fountain, 200m-300mm (700feet-1,000feetm) into the air. By midnight lava had already covered over 1km2 and this extended to 7.5km2 by next morning implying a flow rate of around 1500 m³/s.
For the first two hours, tephra was produced at the rate of 10000 m³/s. The cloud from the eruption, which had reached 53000feet by 10:10 pm, caused a lightning storm. The tephra was transported northwards by the wind, causing the sky to turn black in places – 190km (120miles) away at Blönduós tephra fell from midnight until 2 am, and ash fell on a trawler 330km (210miles) away at 2 am. Icelanders sampled the tephra fall in their locality by putting a plate outside to capture everything that fell onto it. This, and other measurements, showed the area covered was long and narrow with the 1 mm contour (an equivalent of 8 tonnes per hectare) extending to the north coast.
By 5:30 on 6 May, the lava flow measured 4km (02miles) long. Many lava bombs were found near the main crater, one had an area of 6m2 and a likely weight of 12 tons. Xenoliths formed around 2% of the material produced by the craters. These were of rock types including basalt, andesite, ignimbrite and sedimentary rock.
The eruption became stronger at Skjólkvíar on 12 May, with columns of steam attaining a height of 2500m (8,200feet). The eruption intensity then gradually reduced until it stopped on 20 May. The lava field then had an area of 5.8km2. Later that day a 900m (3,000feet) long fissure opened 1m21 km north of the main Hlídargígar crater. That night it contained 17 lava fountains, each 20m–50mm (70feet–160feetm) in height. By the evening of the next day, 10–12 craters had formed, each throwing pieces of lava 50m–100mm (160feet–300feetm) in the air. This row of craters was named Öldugígar. Gradually the number of active craters decreased, the most active of these built a cone 100m (300feet) higher than the level of the ridge. Lava flowed from its base until mid-June when the lava cut through the north crater wall. The larger cones produced more tephra, occasionally with lightning within the tephra cloud. By 5 July, the eruption had stopped.
During eruptions of Hekla, fluorine is produced and sticks to the surfaces of the grains of tephra. Fine grains can have a fluorine content of 350 ppm, and fluorine poisoning can start in sheep at a diet with fluorine content of 25 ppm. At 250 ppm, death can occur within a few days. In 1783, 79% of the Icelandic sheep stock were killed, probably as a result of fluorosis caused by the eruption of Lakagígar. Some of the ash produced in this eruption had a fluorine content of 0.2%, and two days after the eruption contaminated grass had a dry weight content of up to 0.4% fluorine. 450 farms and 95,000 sheep were affected by the eruption. Some sheep were kept inside and fed on hay or moved, but other farmers were forced to graze their flocks outside.
This VEI-3 eruption started at 13:28 on 17 August 1980 and lasted until 20 August 1980. It was a mixed eruption producing a lava volume of 0.12km3 and a tephra volume of 58000000m2. The fissure opened along a 7km (04miles) length. Shortly before the eruption started a steam column was produced; eventually the eruption column reached a height of 15km (09miles). The main tephra deposits were to the north-northeast and lasted for around 2 hours. Deposits were 20cm (10inches) thick 10km (10miles) from the summit, decreasing to less than 1mm at the coast 230km (140miles) away.Lava was initially produced from close to the summit, spreading to other parts of the fissure and covering an area of 22km2 in around 24 hours. The last scoria were seen on the morning of 20 August. This was an unusual eruption both in the short time since the previous eruption – the shortest since 1104, and the length – previous eruptions had lasted from 2 months to 2 years rather than just 3 days.[38]
The 1981 eruption, which is regarded as being a continuation of the previous year's eruption, began at 3 am on 9 April 1981, had a VEI of 2 and produced 30000000m2 of lava, lasting until 16 April 1981. The eruption threw ash to a height of 6.6km (04.1miles), and a new crater formed at the summit from which 3 lava flows originated. These extended to a maximum of 4.5km (02.8miles) from the volcano, covering 5km26km2.
The most recent eruption was relatively short; it started at 18:18 on 26 February 2000 and lasted until 8 March. It was a VEI-3 eruption producing a lava volume of 0.189km3, DRE[40] 0.29km3 and 10000000m2m3 of tephra. The eruption went through four phases:
Eruption activity was at a maximum in the first hour, and by the first night the fissure on Hekla had opened to a length of 6km-7kmkm (04miles-04mileskm). The steam column rose to a height of almost 15km (09miles), and ash was transported to Grímsey on the North coast of Iceland.[41] During this eruption, a NASA DC-8 aeroplane accidentally flew through the plume with all instruments switched on, resulting in unprecedented measurement of a young volcanic plume.
Up until this eruption, it had been assumed that Hekla was incapable of producing the most dangerous of volcanic phenomena, the pyroclastic flow. In January 2003, however, a team from the Norvol Institute in Reykjavík, under the leadership of Dr. Ármann Höskuldsson, reported that they found traces of a pyroclastic flow, roughly 5 km long, stretching down the side of the mountain. This will call for a reappraisal of volcanic eruptions of the basic rock type, which up to now were generally thought not to produce large pyroclastic flows. It will also require that the public and curious spectators who always rush to the scene at the start of a new outbreak, be kept much further away from the volcanic activity than was thought necessary during previous outbreaks.
| data-sort-type="number" width=95px | Start Date | Years before 1950 (BP) | width=70px | VEI | width=70px | Lava volume (km3)[42] | width=70px | Tephra volume (km3) | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 3 | 0.19 | 0.01 | Eruption ended | |||||
| - | 3 | 0.15 | 0.02 | Eruption ended | |||||
| - | 2 | 0.03[43] | - | Eruption ended | |||||
| - | 3 | 0.12 < | --smaller than 0.15 of 2019 source so preferred ----> | 0.06 | Eruption ended | ||||
| 3 | 0.2 | 0.07 | Eruption ended | ||||||
| 3 | 4 | 0.8 | 0.18 | Eruption ended | |||||
| 2 | 0.05 | - | Eruption ended | ||||||
| 2 | 0.2 | - | Eruption ended April 1878 | ||||||
| 4 | 0.63 | 0.23 | Eruption ended about | ||||||
| 4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | Eruption ended in May 1768. Tephra composition is rhyolite to dacite (Icelandite).[44] | ||||||
| 1 | - | - | |||||||
| 4 | - | 0.3 | Eruption ended about | ||||||
| 3 | - | 0.18 | Eruption ended in June 1637 | ||||||
| 4 | 0.29 | Eruption ended in or after June 1597 | |||||||
| 2 | 0.1 | - | Eruption ended about June 1554 | ||||||
| 4 | - | 0.32 | |||||||
| 3 | 0.2 | 0.15 | Eruption ended in 1390 | ||||||
| 3 | - | 0.18 | |||||||
| 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | Eruption ended in July 1301. Tephra composition is rhyolite to dacite (Icelandite). | ||||||
| 2 | - | 0.04 | |||||||
| 3 | - | 0.4 | Dated using historical records. | ||||||
| 4 | 0.1 | 0.33 | |||||||
| 5 | 0 | 2.0 | H 1 tephra, composition is rhyolite. Erupted within 45 days of date. | ||||||
| ± 500 | ± 500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 2 | ± 2 | - | - | - | Greenland ice core[45] | ||||
| ± 2 | ± 2 | - | - | - | Greenland ice core | ||||
| ± 500 | ± 500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 1500 | ± 1500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 500 | ± 500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 1500 | ± 1500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 2500 BCE | ± 2500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 500 BCE | ± 500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 2500 BCE | ± 2500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 500 BCE | ± 500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 80 BCE | ± 80 | - | - | - | H C dacite (Icelandite) tephra. | ||||
| ± 140 BCE | 3013 ± 140 | 5 | - | 10 | H 3 dacite, rhyolite tephra. Cal. BP | ||||
| ± 1500 BCE | ± 1500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 1500 BCE | ± 1500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 2500 BCE | ± 2500 | - | - | - | |||||
| BCE | 4 | - | - | ||||||
| ± 2500 BCE | ± 2500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 500 BCE | ± 500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 2500 BCE | ± 2500 | - | - | 2.0 | |||||
| ± 8 BCE | 4325 ± 8 | 5 | - | 10.0 | H 4 rhyolite tephra.Ice core age used. | ||||
| ± 180 BCE | ± 180 | - | - | - | H 4270 alkali basalt tephra. Age corrected for H4 ice core age to maintain mean 10 year separation. | ||||
| ± 1500 BCE | ± 1500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 2500 BCE | ± 2500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 500 BCE | ± 500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 2500 BCE | ± 2500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 1500 BCE | ± 1500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 1500 BCE | ± 1500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 500 BCE | ± 500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 500 BCE | ± 500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 100 BCE | ± 100 | 5 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| ± 2500 BCE | ± 2500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 500 BCE | ± 500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 500 BCE | ± 500 | - | - | - | |||||
| BCE | 4 | - | - | Date only constrained by before and after eruptions | |||||
| ± 2500 BCE | ± 2500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 2500 BCE | ± 2500 | - | - | - | |||||
| BCE | - | - | - | Date only constrained by before and after eruptions | |||||
| ± 260 BCE | 7053 ± 260 | 5 | - | 3 | H 5 basaltic to rhyolite tephra. Cal BP age used. | ||||
| ± 2500 BCE | ± 2500 | - | - | - | |||||
| ± 150 BCE | 10550 ± 150 | - | - | - | H 10550 alkali basalt tephra. |
The Hekla area was once forested. Forest and some grasses are much more resilient to ash and pumice fall than low vegetation, but the combined effect of human habitation and the volcanic activity has left an unstable surface very susceptible to erosion. Hekluskógar, a 90000ha reforesting project is attempting to restore the birch and willow woodland to the slopes of Hekla, starting with soil fertilisation and grass sowing. This would stabilize the large areas of volcanic ash, help to reduce wind erosion of the frost heaved surface, slow drainage rates and hence water erosion, and ultimately increase biodiversity. It is the largest reforestation of its type in Europe.[46] [47] After an eruption, almost all of the 'safe sites' on new lava flows are colonised by mosses within 20 years[48] expanding to a homogeneous layer up to 20cm (10inches) thick typically within 50 years.[49]
Past eruptions have been associated with death of birds and live-stock related to either the high fluoride content of the tephra, carbon dioxide suffocation or toxic carbon monoxide gas release,[11] and must have had local die back in the ecosystems. Local plant succession on the lava fields after eruptions has been better studied and there are four broad stages of natural succession with importantly the potential for regression:[50]
Local factors and other disturbances influence these rates but the 1991 laval flow first stage was completed in 24 years.[50] The basaltic volcanic soil development is typical for Iceland.[50] Vegetation height prior to a tephra fall is the single most important factor for vascular plant survival so the presence of a woodland before a further large tephra deposit enhances regrowth.[50]
Hekla is a popular destination for hiking. Following the most recent eruption the path goes most of the way to the summit;[51] the walk takes 3 to 4 hours.In spring, skiing is possible on short routes around the rim of the crater. In summer, there are easy (F) mountaineering routes also around the crater rim,[52] and it is possible to snowcat to the top in winter. The volcano can be reached using the buses to Landmannalaugar 30km (20miles) further east, and it is possible to stay or camp at farms in the area.[53] A visitor centre, The Hekla Center at Leirubakki Farm, opened in 2007.[54]
Hekla has featured in artistic works since the time of its medieval infamy.
In the Spanish apocalyptic science fiction film, Los Últimos Días (2013), some news reporters speculate that three recent eruptions of Mount Hekla could have caused the spreading form of agoraphobia that kills affected people who go outside.
The climax of Robert Eggers's 2022 film The Northman takes place on the slopes of Hekla.
In the Boston, Massachusetts area, Hekla pastries can be found – large, upside-down cinnamon rolls with white sugar icing spooned over the top to look like the snow-topped volcano.[55]
The British poet William Blake showed Winter being banished to Hekla in To Winter, one of the works from his Poetical Sketches.[56]
In To Lie With Lions, by Dorothy Dunnett, a party of merchants visiting Iceland in the year 1471 witnesses the spectacular (fictional) eruption of both Hekla and Katla.
Mt. Hekla is referenced in the third chapter of Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick, in EE Ryan's The Odd Saga of the American and a Curious Icelandic Flock, and in the final chapters of Joan Aiken's novel Is.
The Hekla 3 eruption and the ensuing volcanic winter play a large role in Stephen Baxter's alternate-history novel Bronze Winter.
The piece Hekla, Op 52 (1964) by Icelandic composer Jón Leifs, has been called the "loudest classical music of all time". The requirements for a performance of Hekla include four sets of rocks hit with hammers, steel plates, anvils, sirens, cannons, metal chains, choir, a large orchestra, and organ.[57]
A small Danish cruiser launched in 1890 was named Hekla; it was scrapped in 1955.
A Danish steamer called Hekla also saw combat in the First Schleswig War.
Icelandair named one of their aircraft after Hekla.
There have been several ships of the Royal Navy named HMS Hecla
In October 2011 a German left-wing militant group called the Hekla-Empfangskomitee (Hekla Reception Committee) set at least 17 incendiary devices on railways in the Berlin area, with 2 of them going off.[58]
The DBU Copenhagen football club Boldklubben Hekla play at Hekla Park.
International Edition
. Gathmann, Florian . . 13 October 2011.