Volcano Drone
YouTube: Joey Helms

Volcanic Eruption Claims Drone That Flies Too Close to the Lava

Earth has a number of truly fascinating natural processes, but few have been as front and center lately as Iceland's volcanoes, which have put on a spectacular show over the past few years. The Fagradalsfjall and Geldingadalir volcanoes started erupting back in March 2021, drawing a wave of tourists who hoped to witness one of our planet's most incredible phenomenons in person. Many of the visitors captured photos of massive lava flows in a remote area just south of Reykjavik, where the mountain was completely covered multiple times. To get better views, many of these spectators deployed drones to fly over the destructive lakes of fire, and one of them was generous enough to share his findings in the YouTube video below. As you're about to see, however, at one point the drone flies so close to a fountain of liquid magma that it suddenly loses all signal.

The Earth's natural processes may be extremely violent, but they are also hauntingly beautiful. This footage was shot at Fagradalsfjall, which has been regularly having these types of spectacular geyser-like eruptions lately. It has also produced spectacular "lakes of fire" and has opened new large fissures in the Earth. It is easy to forget our planet is constantly shifting and changing until you see a video like this.

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Prior to this recent activity, this volcano had been quiet for centuries. Volcanologists knew something was coming when earthquakes started to hit the greater Reykjanes Peninsula in December 2020. Thankfully, few people live in the area, so the danger to the people of Iceland is low.

Love them or hate them, drones give us a whole new view of things like this from an angle we would not see otherwise. In the video's description, the uploader, Joey Helms, notes that this drone was a DJI FPV. In case you were wondering that drone is not cheap. It retails for about $1,300 here in the U.S. Talk about an expensive, yet spectacular shot!

For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels

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