Volcanic activity means the Vestmann archipelago (some fifteen islands and a multitude of jagged rocks) is constantly changing. Surtsey Island (a UNESCO World Heritage Site reserved for scientists), which rose out of the sea in 1963, is presented to great effect (genesis, evolution and future) at the Surtsey Visitor Centre, located on delightful Heimaey, the only inhabited island; it gained a few metres from the sea thanks to the eruption of Eldfell in 1973.