Eyjafjallajökull

Eyjafjallajökull is an ice capped caldera of a volcano famous for its eruption in the spring of 2010 which stopped air traffic in most of Europe. About 500 farmers and their families had to be evacuated overnight from their homes and the area was closed off as it was a risk zone. Several fissures and lava craters had opened up with lava eventually starting to flow down into Hrunagil and Hvannárgil canyon in an impressive 100 m high lava fall.

Eyjafjallajökull is an ice capped caldera of a volcano famous for its eruption in the spring of 2010 which stopped air traffic in most of Europe. About 500 farmers and their families had to be evacuated overnight from their homes and the area was closed off as it was a risk zone. Several fissures and lava craters had opened up with lava eventually starting to flow down into Hrunagil and Hvannárgil canyon in an impressive 100 m high lava fall.

Eyjafjallajökull eruption The eruption released a large black ash cloud and soon the area surrounding Eyjafjallajökul mountain was covered in ash affecting the animals out in the field which had to be rescued as well. Many farms in the area were affected with a thick layer of ash falling on their land covering everything. For the next several days hundreds of planes were cancelled because of the ash cloud spreading all over Europe. The ash cloud from the eruption was reaching into the jet stream and it could be very dangerous for the airplanes.

The volcano, which is a stratovolcano, is sitting on top of the Mid-Atlantic ridge where the two tectonic plates meet (the American plate and the Eurasian plate) as they cross the country from the south to the north of Iceland. These two tectonic plates are always moving and create a lot of tension in the form of earthquakes and sometimes volcano eruptions.

The mountain is 1.651 m (5.417 ft) high towering over the south coast with a breathtaking view on a beautiful day driving from Reykjavik.