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See the Calendar for current events.
Other News2012 INL of NA CONVENTION INFORMATIONINTRODUCTION OF THE 'ICELANDIC ONLINE CLUB' Since 1919, the 'Icelandic National League of North America' has been meeting the needs of their members in many various ways, including local clubs where members can interact and participate with one another. Although the benefits of joining a local club are immeasurable, it has not been an option for members living outside the radius of local clubs. Realizing the needs of those members, the INLNA has been exploring the benefits of technology to meet those needs, and are excited to announce the addition of a new, interactive, online club called the 'Icelandic Online Club.'
INL of NA t-shirts, Great Christmas Gift! We still have a few of the beautiful INL of NA t-shirts available, sizes small and medium. The t-shirts are $15 plus shipping costs of: They are 100% good quality cotton and sizes are quite generous. Measuring (from armpit to armpit across front) -- the small is 18 inches -- and the medium is 19.5 inches across front Email Gwen at the INLOFNA Office Send cheque to: INLOFNA office CHRISTMAS CHARITY FOR MÆDRASTYRKSNEFND Once again, INL of NA is appealing for donations to the Mæðrastyrksnefnd Charity to help those in need in Iceland. Send donations by December 10 to INL of NA, #103—94 1st Avenue, Gimli,MB R0C 1B1
The 2012 INL of NA Calendar is now available The Snorri Sturluson Icelandic Fellowships INL/NA Report to Clubs - Installment #5 – Aug. 2011 Click here to check coverage of the 92nd convention in Edmonton, photos and video included. Here is the radio interview with Gail Einnarson-McLeary and Bill Valgardson. We are very pleased to announce that Icelandic River Heritage Sites Inc. has joined the Icelandic National League of North America, as an Affiliate Member! Here is their mission statement from their website
Please visit their website for more information on their valuable activities dedicated to preserving our heritage. In particular, they have two very good programs ... Icelandic River Roast (coffee available for sale) and a new one, Sigtryggur Jónasson note cards. Sygtryggur is known as the "Father of New Iceland".
We hope you will all welcome them and show your support for their aims and initiatives.
Rob Olason, Membership Director and Gail Einarson-McCleery, President
Icelandic National League of North America
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Manitoba's Icelandic River district in the Rural Municipality of Bifrost is one of Canada's most unique and historically rich areas. Icelandic River Heritage Sites Inc. was formed on Oct. 22, 2006 (the 131st anniversary of the landing of the first Icelandic settlers on Willow Point) as a non-profit organization of volunteers dedicated to making this unique heritage more visible and accessible for present and future generations...Góðan dag!
The Snorri Plus deadline passed yesterday. We have reached our minimum number of participants but we'd like to see if a few more will join us on this fantastic trip!
If you have been thinking about it, stop thinking and sign up today. You will not regret it!
New deadline: March 14, 2011 - first come first serve
Available are: 2 apartments (3-4), 2 studios and 1 single/double room without a bath available (Reykjavik only, the rest is always single or double rooms).
Rates from: 2,990 CAD/USD
Please let me know if you are interested and contact me for further information ASAP.
On behalf of the Snorri Foundation,
Asta Sol Kristjansdottir
Project Manager
www.snorri.is
info@snorri.is
-Snorri - because we have passion for your heritage
Please see attached the Embassy's January Newsletter (Vol.3 No.1)
Best regards
Embassy of Iceland
House of Sweden.
2900 K Street, N.W. Suite 509
Washington, D.C. 20007
Tel: +1-202-265-6653
Fax: +1-202-265-6656
Website: http://www.iceland.org/us
E-mail: emb.washington@mfa.is
This year again, the Icelandic National League of North America collected money to send to Iceland to aid them in their time of need. Here is the report from Almar Grímsson President of INL of Iceland.
It was a pleasure and great privilege to visit 3 mæðrstyrks committees today. We handed over the certificate as approved by you (with correct spelling of your name !!). They were all deeply moved by the generosity of INL of North America and its member clubs and the individuals behind this outstanding gift. They all report a considerable increase of allocations to families in need. Estimate is around 50 % increase so the "kreppa" is still there. Ásta Sól and I visited Reykjavík, Kópavogur and Hafnarfjordur today and our board member in Akureyri Jón Hlöðver Áskelsson visited the committee there. Tomorrow I will go to Akranes to visit the Mæðrastyrksnefnd Vesturlands. Our treasurer has instructions to transfer the funds according to the agreed instructions for allocation to each.
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| Elísabet Valgeirsdóttir chair of mæðrastyrksnefnd in Hafnarfjörður receives the certificate from Almar Grímsson President of INL of Iceland. | Sigurfljóð Skúladóttir chair of mæðrastyrksnefnd in Kópavogur receives the certificate from Almar Grímsson President of INL of Iceland. Others on the photo are Erla Líndal og Ásta Sól with her son Leon Bjartur |
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| Margrét K. Sigurðardóttir treasurer of mæðrastyrksnefnd in Reykjavík receives the certificate from Almar Grímsson President of INL of Iceland. Others on the photo are Ríkey Ríkharðsdóttir og Geirlaug Þorvaldsdóttir |
Article in the Globe and Mail Report on Business magazine: http://bit.ly/icelandshardroad
Good blog on the ICESAVE crisis: Sigrún Davíðsdóttir's Icelog
Virtual Museum Gimli, the Evolution of a Community: i.e. Map showing New Iceland (in red) as it was from 1875 to 1881, outside of Manitoba's boundaries. Click here to go to the Virtual Museum site.
Associated Press
REYKJAVIK, Iceland - Blasts of lava and ash shot out of a volcano in southern Iceland on Monday and small tremors rocked the ground, a surge in activity that raised fears of a larger explosion at the nearby Katla volcano. Scientists say history has proven that when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts, Katla follows - the only question is how soon. And Katla, located under the massive Myrdalsjokull icecap, threatens disastrous flooding and explosive blasts when it blows. Saturday's eruption at Eyjafjallajokull - dormant for nearly 200 years - forced at least 500 people to evacuate. Most have returned to their homes, but authorities were waiting for scientific assessments to determine whether they were safe to stay. Residents of 14 farms nearest to the eruption site were told to stay away. Several small tremors were felt early Monday, followed by spurts of lava and steam rocketing into the air. Iceland sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge. Eruptions, common throughout Iceland's history, are often triggered by seismic activity when the Earth's plates move and when magma from deep underground pushes its way to the surface. Like earthquakes, predicting the timing of volcanic eruptions is an imprecise science. An eruption at the Katla volcano could be disastrous, however - both for Iceland and other nations. Iceland's Laki volcano erupted in 1783, freeing gases that turned into smog. The smog floated across the Jet Stream, changing weather patterns. Many died from gas poisoning in the British Isles. Crop production fell in western Europe. Famine spread. Some even linked the eruption, which helped fuel famine, to the French Revolution. Painters in the 18th century illustrated fiery sunsets in their works. The winter of 1784 was also one of the longest and coldest on record in North America. New England reported a record stretch of below-zero temperatures and New Jersey reported record snow accumulation. The Mississippi River also reportedly froze in New Orleans. "These are Hollywood-sort of scenarios but possible," said Colin Macpherson, a geologist with the University of Durham. "As the melt rises, it's a little like taking a cork out of a champagne bottle." There are three main places where volcanoes normally occur - along strike-slip faults such as California's San Andreas fault line, along areas where plates overlap one another such as in the Philippines and the Pacific Rim, and in areas like Iceland, where two of the Earth's plates are moving apart from each other in a so-called spreading system. Unlike the powerful volcanos along the Pacific Rim where the slow rise of magma gives scientists early seismic warnings that an eruption is imminent, Iceland's volcanos are unique in that many erupt under ice sheets with little warning. Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a geologist at the University of Iceland who flew over the site Monday, said the beginning of Saturday's eruption was so indistinct that it initially went undetected by geological instruments. Many of the tremors were below magnitude 2.6. Using thermal cameras and radar to map the lava flow, Gudmundsson and other scientists were able to determine that the lava from Eyjafjallajokull was flowing down a gorge and not moving toward the ice caps - reducing any threat of floods. He said he and other scientists were watching Katla but Monday's trip was meant to assess immediate risk. "A general expectation is that because of the Eyjafjallajokull eruption, the fissure would widen and in that sense, there's a greater risk of extending into or underneath the glaciers and prompting an eruption at Katla," said Andy Russell with Newcastle University's Earth Surface Processes Research Group, who went with a team to Iceland before the eruption. "From records, we know that every time Eyjafjallajokull erupts, Katla has also erupted." Russell said past Katla eruptions have caused floods the size of the Amazon and sent boulders as big as houses tumbling down valleys and roads. The last major eruption took place in 1918. Floods followed in as little as an hour. Those eruptions have posed risks to residents nearby, but most of Iceland's current population of 320,000 live in the capital of Reykjavik on the western part of the island. Southern Iceland is sparely populated but has both glaciers and unstable volcanoes - a destructive combination. The last time there was an eruption near the 100-square-mile (160 square-kilometre) Eyjafjallajokull glacier was in 1821, and that was a "lazy" eruption that lasted slowly and continuously for two years. Iceland is one of the few places in the world where a mid-ocean ridge actually rises above sea level. Many volcanic eruptions along the ocean basin often go undetected because they can't be easily seen. First settled by Vikings in the 9th century, Iceland is known as the land of fire and ice because of its volcanos and glaciers. During the Middle Ages, Icelanders called the Hekla volcano, the country's most active, the "Gateway to Hell," believing that souls were dragged into the fire below. The last major volcanic eruption in Iceland occurred in 2004 with the Grimsvotn volcano.
I am sending this information on the eruption at Fimmvörðuháls to all who receive our electronic Embassy Newsletter.
Press the link below. There are English, German, Swedish and Polish versions of the main info.
So far - this is just what we in Iceland call a small tourist eruption between the glaciers in the south of Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. No water floods - so-called glacier bursts - jökulhlaup - have therefore accompanied this eruption. There have now been 4 eruptions at Fimmvörðuháls since the settlement of Iceland in 874, the last one was in 1821. Fimmvörðuháls is perhaps the most popular hiking trail in the highlands of Iceland. Thousands walk there each summer and the hike takes approximately 10 hours. An extremely scenic route and challenging.
However, close by looms the infamous Katla under the ice cover of Mýrdalsjökull. Katla has erupted about 20 times since 874 and has been "due" since about 1960 if history is an indication. In other words an eruption there has been expected by geologists for the last 50 years. An eruption in Katla always means huge and dangerous floods, destroying the highway (No. 1) and its bridges to the south of Mýrdalsjökull. Ash can also be a threat from Katla.
Because the eruption at Fimmvörðuháls started in the night about 500 people living in the vicinity were evacuated according to well rehearsed civil defense plans. All but the families of the 14 farms closest to the eruption have now been allowed back to their homes. Livestock animals are not affected so far, this has mostly been a lava eruption hitherto, but some ash has fallen on the ground and therefore cattle, sheep and horses in some of closest of the farms are being kept inside barns, etc. for safety.
After each of the 4 recorded eruptions in Fimmvörðuháls Katla has erupted - the two seem geologically connected - and therefore all civil defense is in the state of full alert. Minor earthquakes were reported this morning.
The attached photo was taken ( further South from Gunnarsholt) Saturday night and the white streak is from the lights from the village Hvolsvöllur
http://www.ruv.is/frett/eldgos-i-fimmvorduhalsi
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8578576.stm An Icelandic volcano, dormant for 200 years, has erupted, ripping a 1km-long fissure in a field of ice. The volcano near Eyjafjallajoekull glacier began to erupt just after midnight, sending lava a hundred metres high. Icelandic airspace has been closed, flights diverted and roads closed. The eruption was about 120km (75 miles) east of the capital, Reykjavik. About 500 people were moved from the area, a civil protection officer said. "We estimate that no-one is in danger in the area, but we have started an evacuation plan and between 500 and 600 people are being evacuated," Sigurgeir Gudmundsson of the Icelandic civil protections department told the Agence France-Presse news agency. The area is sparsely populated, but the knock-on effects from the eruption have been considerable. A state of emergency is in force in southern Iceland and transport connections have been severely disrupted, including the main east-west road. "Ash has already begun to fall in Fljotshlid and people in the surrounding area have reported seeing bright lights emanating from the glacier," RUV public radio said on its website. "It was a bit scary, but still amazing to see," Katrin Moller Eiriksdottir, who lives in Fljotshlid, told the BBC News website. "The ash had started falling and we couldn't leave the car." Three Icelandair flights, bound for Reykjavik from the United States, were ordered to return to Boston, RUV radio reported. Domestic flights were suspended indefinitely, but some international flights were scheduled to depart on Sunday. There had initially been fears that the volcano could cause flooding, as it causes ice to melt on the glacier above it, but that scenario appears to have been avoided. However, it could cause more activity nearby, scientists say. "This was a rather small and peaceful eruption but we are concerned that it could trigger an eruption at the nearby Katla volcano, a vicious volcano that could cause both local and global damage," said Pall Einarsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland's Institute of Earth Science, Associated Press news agency reported. As the eruption is taking place in an area that is relatively ice free, there is little chance of a destructive glacier burst like the one that washed away part of the east-west highway four years ago, after an eruption under the vast Vattnajoekull glacier. Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the highly volatile boundary between the Eurasian and North American continental plates, with quakes and eruptions. The last volcanic eruption in the Eyjafjallajoekull area occurred in 1821.
Credit: BBC news
Congratulations to the Snorri Participants 2010:
SNORRI PARTICIPANTS FOR 2010 – as per Asta Sol
NOTE: Asta is now on maternity leave.
Her replacement is Alexia Bjorg Johannesdottír (alexia@snorri.is)
Kara Bodvarson - Medicine Hat, Alberta
Stephanie Bokenfohr - Calgary, Alberta
Holly Long - Calgary, Alberta
Autumn Whiteway - Calgary, Alberta
Sarah Isbister - Chilliwack, British.Columbia
Kristjana Britton - Winnipeg, Manitoba
Kathrina Cordingley - Carberry, Manitoba
Paulette Taillefer - St-Adolphe, Manitoba
Joeseph Bowen - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Isaac Leon Muscanto - Roseville, Minnesota
Jodi Amy - Southampton, Ontario
Jesse Chisholm-Beatson - Stratford, Ontario;
Teal Johannson-Knox - Hanmer, Ontario
Iléana Eilis Soley Gutnick - Outremont, Quebéc
Vanessa Corka - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Tanya Bjornson - Ferndale, Washington
Enjoy Delicious Coffee While Supporting Local Heritage Projects 
