FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2026-095

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (June 8, 2026) – This edition of Fun with Maps is all about a most significant volcano.

ERUPTION

What was one of the most important climatic and socially significant natural events of the last millennium?  It was something most not have heard of – the eruption of the Laki volcano in southern Iceland on June 8, 1783 and lasting for 8 months.

An estimated 42 billion tons of basalt lava and more importantly clouds of sulfur dioxide and hydrofluoric acid were released.  The gases killed virtually all crops, most cattle and about one-third of the Icelandic inhabitants through starvation.

The eruption caused at first temperature rise mostly in the northern hemisphere then a cold winter followed by a cold spring with excessive floods.  Crops failed and both humans and livestock suffered starvation and many deaths.

This map of Iceland is by Ortelius issued in 1602.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps. Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.