The first outbreak, which, by the way, is the earliest recorded date of an eruption in the island—being before Eldborg to which that honour is usually assigned—occurred in the year A.D. 894, and the last in A.D. 1823.[[19]] The number of them during that period is reckoned by the best authorities at fourteen, the longest interval between two eruptions being 311 years, and the shortest 6. As its devastations have only been less terrible than those of Skaptár, we shall now, after presenting a concise table of dates, glance at the various eruptions of Kötlugjá, extracting or briefly condensing from reliable sources, dwelling more particularly on those of A.D. 1625, and 1755, two of the most fearful and destructive.
For the table, and the collecting of many of the facts and paragraphs which follow relating to Kötlugjá, I am indebted to my friend Dr. Lauder Lindsay.
| 1st | eruption A.D. | 894. | Interval since | previous | eruption. | |
| 2d | ” | 934. | ” | ” | 40 | years. |
| 3d | ” | 1245. | ” | ” | [[20]]311 | ” |
| 4th | ” | 1262. | ” | ” | 17 | ” |
| 5th | ” | 1311. | ” | ” | 49 | ” |
| 6th | ” | 1416. | ” | ” | 105 | ” |
| 7th | ” | 1580. | ” | ” | 164 | ” |
| 8th | ” | 1612. | ” | ” | 32 | ” |
| 9th | ” | 1625. | ” | ” | 13 | ” |
| 10th | ” | 1660. | ” | ” | 35 | ” |
| 11th | ” | 1721. | ” | ” | 61 | ” |
| 12th | ” | 1727. | ” | ” | [[21]]6 | ” |
| 13th | ” | [[22]]1755. | ” | ” | 28 | ” |
| 14th | ” | 1823. | ” | ” | 68 | ” |
The first eruption, in A.D. 894, destroyed the pasture lands between the hill called Hafrsey, and the Holmsá river. Eight farms were abandoned, and the district of country in question is still almost entirely a sandy desert.
The second, A.D. 934, was also a formidable one, and formed the extensive sandy desert now known as the Solheima-sand, a tract about twenty miles long; and formed altogether of volcanic sand, ashes, or lapilli, and pumice.
The third, in A.D. 1245, covered a tract of country, though of what extent we are not informed, with sand and ashes to the depth of six or eight inches.
The fourth, A.D. 1262, or, according to some writers, 1263, was attended by such an ejection of dust and ashes, that the sun could not be seen at mid-day in serene weather. During this eruption, the large river called Fulilækr, the Jökulsá—or Jökul river—which divides the Skoga-sand from the Solheima-sand, suddenly made its appearance.
The fifth, in A.D. 1311 (some say 1332), appears to have been more destructive to life than any of the previous ones. Many farms were destroyed in the district called Myrdals-sand; several sand-hills and other hills were formed, and several marshes sprang into existence. It vomited ashes and sand during the greater part of the winter, and, melting the ice about the crater, the inhabited tract in the vicinity was inundated, and all the inhabitants except two perished in the flood. Another account states that this eruption was known as “Sturluhlaup,” from only one man of the name of Sturla having been saved, of those overwhelmed by the volcanic ejections.
The sixth, A.D. 1416. The lava or water-floods took the direction of Hjörleifshöfdi, an isolated hill and promontory on the coast of the Myrdals-sand, considerably to the south-east of Kötlugjá.
The seventh, A.D. 1580. During this eruption it is stated that Myrdals Jökul was rent asunder, and as the name Kötlugjá is now first given to the crater or fissure of eruption, it is probable that at this date the chasm was first recognised or discovered, if not formed. This eruption was characterized by fire, darkness, and a rain of ashes, as well as by water-floods; one of which latter went eastward toward the monastery of Thyckvaboe, and another southward to Myrdal. Many farms were destroyed, but there appears to have been no loss of human life.