Millions in Spain watch the country's first total solar eclipse in over a century

A total solar eclipse swept across Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic and the Iberian Peninsula on August 12. It was Spain's first total eclipse in more than a century, and millions gathered in squares, on beaches and in mountain villages.

Spanish authorities expected at least half a million extra visitors, set up about 350 official viewing sites and deployed more than 33,500 police officers. Totality lasted about a minute in Spain and Portugal, and longest, just under two and a half minutes, off Iceland's west coast.

Iceland: a rare visitor

Iceland, with fewer than 400,000 residents, expected up to 20,000 foreign visitors. Hotel rooms in Reykjavík averaged more than $1,000 a night, roughly double a year earlier. The island's last total eclipse was in 1954, and Reykjavík's was in 1433.

In Spain many viewing sites saw temperatures above 35°C, in a summer marked by heatwaves and wildfires.