The Fagradalsfjal volcano in Iceland started erupting on March 19, 2021 and has been active for six months. Although the eruption has stopped, the stunning crater and lava formations are still worth a visit.
VULKAN Eruption IN ISLAND
Icelandic volcanoes regularly publish major news in world media, such as the infamous Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, which halted all air traffic over Europe for several days and ejected ash into the air, and the latest media sensation, Fagradalsfjal, erupted in 2021.
As a result, many people ask; Is a volcano still erupting in Iceland? Of course we understand the interest; There is hardly anything more exciting than volcanoes.
The easiest way to find out is to check the Official Catalog of Icelandic Volcanoes to see if any of Iceland’s 32 active volcanic systems are red (a volcano is considered active if it has erupted in the last 10,000 years). If no volcano is erupting, we probably won’t have to wait too long for the next one as Iceland is one of the most active volcanic regions on earth and eruptions occur on average every four years. However, the duration of the eruptions is highly variable; they can last from minutes or hours to months or even years.
Ice-capped volcanoes in Iceland produce black ash when 1200°C hot basaltic magma collides with ice and explodes
WHERE FIRE MEETS ICE
The nature of eruptions in Iceland is varied: from small effervescent eruptions, where lava flows very quietly from fissures and rows of craters, to large explosive eruptions in ice-covered central volcanoes, forming large plumes of ash – literally where fire meets ice.
The reason for Iceland’s intense volcanic activity is the country’s geological location, where we have an interaction between the boundary of a common plate on the Mid-Atlantic ridge and a powerful mantle cloud that creates a hot spot on the surface. Together they produce large amounts of magma that fills gaps in the Earth’s crust created by spreading plates, leading to frequent eruptions along the rift zone.
Below are links to Icelandic eruptions in the 21st century and other articles related to volcanoes.