Gerography

Answer all of the following questions in your own words. You are welcome to quote the McPhee text (with proper page-number citation), but I am most interested in your own summaries and opinions. I expect your answers to be thorough and thoughtful, but not necessarily long. This is not a research assignment.

There is no set word or page target, and the questions vary in terms of their ideal response, but to give you a bit of an idea of the amount of writing I expect, each question is labeled as “longer” or “shorter”. The shorter questions should be answerable in a single paragraph; the longer questions will take several paragraphs but not more than a page or two. Your answers should be submitted via a file upload below; acceptable file formats include Text (.txt), Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx), and Portable Document Format (.pdf).

While all that you need to answer these questions is provided in McPhee’s chapter (and your own critically-thinking mind), those interested in further reading on the subject (with illustrations) can consult the following websites:

McPhee’s chapter as it first appeared in essay form in 1988 in the New Yorker, on February 22 and February 29
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/heimaey
http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/europe_west_asia/heimaey/heimaey.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimaey

Shorter questions

1. Why is Heimaey’s harbor so valuable that people are willing to place themselves and their property in harm’s way to live there?

2. McPhee writes, “Iceland and Hawaii in a sense are twins.” What does he mean by this?

3. Who/What was “Flakkarinn the Wanderer,” and why did he pose such a threat to the town and harbor of Heimaey?

Longer questions

4. The humankind-vs.-volcano confrontation in the winter-spring of 1973 are described at the beginning of the chapter as both “pissing on the lava” and a “war against nature”. How do these two metaphors differently portray human-environmental interactions? Which of these two metaphors better reflects the realities of 1973, in your opinion, and why? And which of these two metaphors—or perhaps some other metaphor you have in mind—provides the better guide for human beings making their homes in a geologically hazardous region?

5. Vulcanologists distinguish between “effusive” and “explosive” volcanic eruptions. Briefly explain the difference, and then answer the following: Which of these labels best fits the 1973 Heimaey eruption? What evidence does McPhee’s chapter present in support of your answer? Is there also evidence that supports classification as the other eruption type instead? (Note: We will discuss the two types of a volcanic eruption in week two of the course.