Mount Hecla is not the only volcano in Iceland. There are several others; and from one of them, named Skaptàr Yökul, there was, in the year 1783, an eruption still more violent than that from Hecla above described. It began on the 8th of June, and raged with little abatement till the end of August, whence onward it continued, but with less violence, till the following year. The lava, in this case, poured from numerous openings; but these rivulets ultimately united themselves into two large currents, which flowed onwards to the sea. In their progress, these burning torrents filled up the beds of two considerable rivers. The greater of the two streams, after it had ceased to flow and had become a solid mass of rock, measured fifty miles in length, and between twelve and fifteen miles in breadth. Its average depth on the plains was about a hundred feet; but in the bed of the river, which it had filled, it was not less than six hundred feet. The snow and ice, which had previously covered the mountain, were not only melted, but the water that flowed from them was raised to the boiling point, and poured down with destructive effect on the plains. The dust and ashes thrown into the air darkened the sun; and they were then strown over the surface of the island, destroying all the pastures, so that many thousands of cattle, horses, and sheep perished. But worse than that, upwards of nine thousand persons lost their lives by this dreadful catastrophe. About a month before this great eruption of Skaptàr Yökul, a volcanic island was thrown up from the sea, at a distance of about seventy miles from Iceland. So great was the quantity of ashes and dross ejected from its crater, that it overspread the sea to a distance of a hundred and fifty miles, forming a crust which obstructed the progress of ships. Portions of this crust floated as far as the Shetland and Orkney islands. The King of Denmark named this fiery apparition "Nyoë," or "New Island," and doubtless prided himself not a little on this addition to his limited dominions. But, alas, for human ambition! About a year after the date of its first appearance, Nyoë sank into the depths out of which it arose, and its position is now marked only by a moderate shoal.