The scene is as spectacular as it is dangerous: flowing rivers of shimmering lava and a dramatic plume of toxic gas.
That image has been the reality for much of the past four months in the Reykjanes Peninsula in southern Iceland, which the country’s tourism website has called a “geological wonder where lighthouses outnumber villages.”
A series of volcano eruptions began in December after hundreds of earthquakes shook the peninsula, cracking open a fissure that sent lava spewing into a residential neighborhood for the first time in more than four decades. The volcanic system has erupted several more times since then.
Grindavik, a fishing town of more than 3,500 people about 30 miles southwest of the country’s capital, Reykjavik, has been evacuated, and the nearby Blue Lagoon, a popular geothermal spa, has been largely closed since early November.
While much of life goes on in the rest of Iceland, the eruptions have had an effect beyond the peninsula, disrupting the tourism operations of a country that relies heavily on visitors.
Icelandair said it has seen a negative impact on bookings because of the threat of the eruptions. While the overall number of passengers carried by the airline in February increased compared to last year, the number flying to Iceland dropped by 8 percent, according to the airline.
While the eruptions continue, the situation has been “steady” this week, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the country’s weather service. But lava continues to flow from three craters toward Grindavik, the service said.
