Hecla

Hecla, or Hekla, a volcano in Iceland, stands isolated 20 miles from the SW. coast and 68 E. of Reykjavik. Its snow-clad summit is 5102 feet high, and has five craters; its sides are seamed by numerous deep ravines. The principal rocks are lava and tuff. Since the 9th century there have been eighteen outbreaks, generally very violent, and often long continued. In September 1845 a terrific outbreak occurred and lasted for more than a year. A fine dust from this eruption was scattered over the Orkney Islands, a distance of 500 miles.

Hedgeley

Hedgeley, a Northumbrian township, 8 miles WNW. of Alnwick. It was the scene of a skirmish (1464), in which Sir Ralph Percy fell.

Hedjaz

Hedjaz. See Arabia.

Hedon

Hedon, a decayed borough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, 5 1/4 miles E. of Hull. Pop. 1000.

Heide

Heide, the chief town of northern Ditmarsh, in the Prussian province of Sleswick-Holstein, 58 miles by rail WSW. of Kiel. Pop. 7355.

Heilbronn

Heilbronn, an old town of Wurtemberg, on the right bank of the Neckar, in a beautiful and fertile region, 28 miles by rail N. of Stuttgart. The church of St Kilian, partly Gothic and partly Renaissance ; the old town-hall; the Diebsthurm (' Thief's Tower'), in which Gotz von Berlichingen was confined; and the house of the Teutonic Knights, now a barrack, are the principal buildings. The industries include the manufacture of silver-plate, paper, iron, sugar, salt, chicory, and chemicals. Pop. 39,000.

Heiligenstadt

Heiligenstadt, a Catholic town of Prussian Saxony, situated on the Leine, 32 miles ENE. of Cassel by rail. Pop. 5861.

Heilsberg

Heilsberg, a town of Prussia, 40 miles S. of Konigsberg. Here the Russians and Prussians defeated the French in 1807. Pop. 5705.

Heilsbronn

Heilsbronn, a Bavarian village of Middle Franconia, 16 miles SW. of Nuremberg by rail, was the seat of a celebrated Cistercian monastery, founded in 1132, and suppressed in 1255.

Hekla

Hekla. See Hecla.

Holder

Holder, The, a strongly-fortified seaport in the Dutch province of North Holland, 51 miles by rail NNW. of Amsterdam. It stands on the Marsdiep, which connects the Zuider Zee and the German Ocean, and at the northern extremity of the North Holland Canal. First fortified by Napoleon in 1811, it has an arsenal, a college for cadets, a meteorological institute, and an excellent harbour. Pop. 25,760. - Helena, capital of Montana state, U.S., on the Northern Pacific Railway, is an important mining centre. The famous Last Chance Gulch goldmine runs through the city. Pop. 10,800.

Helensburgh

Helensburgh (El'lenz-bur'row), a Scottish watering-place in Dumbartonshire, on the right bank of the Firth of Clyde, at the entrance to the Gareloch. It was founded in 1777 by Sir James Colquhoun, and named after his wife Helen. Pop. about 8600, which is nearly doubled in summer. In 1871 it was barely 6000.

Helicon

Helicon, a mountain-range (5736 feet) of SW. Bœ;otia, in ancient Greece, was celebrated as the favourite seat of the Muses. At the foot of the range stood the village of Ascra, the residence of Hesiod, and the seat of the earliest school of poetry in Greece. On the slopes were the famous fountains of Aganippe and Hippocrene.