Volcano

The unprecedented inconvenience caused by the ash cloud from the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull cannot have been missed by anyone. The eruption has however produced some remarkable images. Lightning caused by the eruption:

Eyjafjallajokull is situated in the south-west of Iceland, by the sea and covers around 40 square miles. The icecap of the Eyjafjallajokull glacier covers a volcano that's 5465 feet (1666 m in height). The crater of the volcano measures 1.8 miles to 2.5 miles across (three to four kilometres).

Before this year's eruptions, the last time the volcano exploded was between 1821 and 1823. It also erupted in 920 and 1612.

Between March third and fifth of this year there were nearly 3,000 earthquakes at the epicentre of the volcano. But most were too small to be of any concern, measuring two or less on the Richter scale. Though some were felt in nearby towns.

The ash cloud from the volcano has reportedly reached a whopping 55000 feet (17000m) in height.

The fissure of the current eruption is 500 metres long and is spewing 1,000 °C (1,832 °F) hot lava up to 150 metres into the air.