Not too far from the capital of Iceland, there is a volcano that is currently the focus of a great deal of attention among volcanologists as well as amateur volcano watchers. With earthquake swarms, magma that is moving rapidly closer and closer to the surface, and a history of pretty regular eruptions, the area is giving all of the signs that there is a lot of volcanic activity about to happen, and yet the eruption has yet to begin. This has tested the interpretive skills of those who seek to use data as a means of aiding volcano prediction and has also encouraged at least some volcanic tourism to the area on the part of people who enjoy this sort of thing.

Having been a person who has spent most of my life far away from mountains of any kind, much less volcanoes, the idea of volcanic tourism is a bit puzzling to me, although given my recent visit to Mt. Etna in Sicily, it is easier to understand how this sort of behavior is understandable and even enjoyable. As is the case with many aspects of life, there are layers to volcanic tourism, so let us try to peel back the layers and see what aspects of it are particularly common and easy enough to understand, and which are less straightforward and even more dangerous than most people may accept as part of their travel experience.

Perhaps the most obvious and less dangerous forms of volcanic tourism involve witnessing sites where volcanoes have been active in the past but are presently dormant and inactive. People visit Pompei, for example, which is located not far from Mt. Vesuvius and was frozen in ash and time, and think nothing of any sort of dangers of visiting the place despite its past, because of the awareness that the volcano is not a frequently erupting one. The same would be true of investigating the ruins of other sites that are close to volcanoes, in that the risk of visiting such places is essentially zero, however much they may mark the futility of lives lived in the shadow of danger.

Equally obvious but a bit more dangerous is going to volcanoes as a matter of tourism but not being aware that one is visiting a volcano. There are a great many volcanoes that appear to be dormant mountains on which are ski resorts, but which, at least at some point, will likely erupt again. It is one thing to be aware that one is visiting a place that is potentially dangerous because one’s guard is up and one is prepared for the small but real possibility of risk. When one visits places that are potentially risky but one is not aware of the risks, one is not as well prepared on the off chance that anything should happen. That is, after all, what made Pompei what it is today. And similar things could indeed happen in other places around the world where danger exists but where it is not recognized until something happens when it is too late to escape.

There are some aspects of volcanic tourism, though, that are highly dangerous even when one is aware of the risks and acts accordingly. Those people who are traveling even now to Iceland to see a volcanic eruption happen, not knowing exactly where along a particular diagonal line the magma will erupt from, assuming that it does, are putting themselves at least potentially in harm’s way. Considerable uncertainty in the face of an imminent eruption exists as to what kind of eruption will result, along with the possibility that the eruption will close roads and lead to an untimely demise. Ultimately, people have to decide what levels of risk and danger they are willing to accept.