List of volcanoes in Iceland

In the North Atlantic the many volcanoes of Iceland have created the eponymous main island and several smaller islands such as the archipelago of the Westman Islands and the small islands and islets in the fjord Breiðafjörður and lasting influence. It is in Iceland one of the few parts of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which overlooks the sea.

Geological conditions

In Iceland there are about 31 active volcanic systems, each volcano applies to geologists as active, has erupted within the last 10,000 years. However, each volcano has its own rhythm and its own phases within which intense and less intense breakout action, and there is thus volcanoes such as the Grímsvötn or Hekla erupting approximately every four or ten years. The specific density of volcanoes in Iceland can be explained by the situation in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a grave fault zone and by a suspected plume in the mantle beneath the island, the Iceland plume. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mostly submarine mountain range and consists of two approximately parallel mountain ranges with a deep ditch between. It projects only a few places on the sea beyond. One of these places is Iceland. The line of the volcanically active zone follows the course of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Magma passes through the cracks between the divergent plates, the North American and Eurasian, to the surface.

This zone, where the most active volcanoes on the island are running, such as diagonally across Iceland from southwest to northeast, from Reykjanes to Langjökull in the West, from the Westman Islands Mýrdalsjökull and Vatnajökull Theistareykir to the east. Approximately in the middle of the country to recognize a variation to the east. Between these two mountain ranges, the active zone of most columns and tension is, and therefore the biggest earthquakes take place there, see that of. With epicenter at Selfoss in 2000. One assumes here a microplate Hreppar plate

Many of the already active in the Pleistocene volcanoes were active in the Holocene. Average every five years, it comes with one of the active volcanoes of the outbreak. After the melting of the shield of the last ice age very large effusive eruptions seem to have taken place, in which up to 15 cubic kilometers of lava were promoted. The shield volcanoes such as Skjaldbreiður, Trölladyngja and Ketildyngja are witnesses of it. Later again came to more explosive eruptions, such as 2800 years ago threw out a major outbreak of Hekla, the 3 km ³ tephra. But there were also previously powerful explosive eruptions, such as in the development of Jökulsárgljúfur about 300,000 years ago.

The belt of active volcanoes and thus the plate boundary was not always in the same place. A few million years ago, the belt was not on the Reykjanes Peninsula, but further out in the bay Faxaflói, led from there on the Snæfellsnes peninsula and in an arc to the north in the district now Húnavatnssýsla and then lay to the north of the country. When the fire dried up this volcanic belt, the position of the volcanic activity at the present locations shifted.

The Snæfellsnes peninsula is an exception to the rule. There began after an interval of several million years ago, about four million years ago, another phase of the activity, so that one must speak of a volcanically active region outside the rift zone here. After all, lying on Snæfellsnes three active volcanic systems, of which the Snæfellsjökul is the best known.

The most important volcanoes

The most important volcanoes on Iceland are:

In the south and west of the country: Hekla, Mýrdalsjökull with Katla, Eldgjá and the Laki craters, Hvannadalshnjúkur (or Öræfajökull ) Esja Snæfellsjökul, Ljósufjöll and leatherback.

In the north of the country and in the Icelandic highlands: the glacier Vatnajökull with Bárðarbunga, Grímsvötn and Kverkfjöll (see also: glacier skiing) as well as the volcanoes Krafla, Hverfjall, Askja and Herðubreið and Kerlingarfjöll the Hofsjökull. In the southeast, there is also also the Snæfell, the highest mountain and volcano of Iceland outside the Vatnajökull.

In addition, some very active volcanoes located on the Vestmannaeyjar ( Westman Islands ), such as on Surtsey, or Eldfell on Heimaey. Their system is probably linked to the Mýrdalsjökull how you had to find disappointed in research regarding a possible tunnel project between the Westman Islands and the mainland: For a tunnel of the seabed there is way too hot.

At the very volcanically active high-temperature areas also include the area of the Hengill central volcano with Hveragerði and Haukadalur in southern Iceland with the known geysers.

Active volcano systems and their central volcanoes

By " active" volcanoes understood here that had their last eruption within the last 10,000 years, so some may be regarded as dormant (such as the Snæfellsjökul ):