Lakagígar

Lakagigar or ‘Craters of Laki’, considered one of the most important geological monuments in the world, is a marvelous 25-km long crater series on Síðumannaafréttir, which runs from the tuff mountain Hnúta, to the northeast through the mountain Laki, which is 818 meters above sea level, and ends in Vatnajökull.

Lakagigar or ‘Craters of Laki’, considered one of the most important geological monuments in the world, is a marvelous 25-km long crater series on Síðumannaafréttir, which runs from the tuff mountain Hnúta, to the northeast through the mountain Laki, which is 818 meters above sea level, and ends in Vatnajökull.

Lakagígar became part of Skaftafell’s National Park in 2004, while four years later Skaftafell’s National Park became part of Vatnajökull National Park. Certain parts of Lakagigar, which is a volcanic fissure, are protected and visitors are not allowed to venture without prior permission. Eruption occurred violently over an eight-month period between 1783-1784 from the Laki fissure and the adjoining volcano Grímsvötn, pouring out an estimated 42 billion tons of basalt lava and clouds of poisonous hydrofluoric acid and sulfur dioxide compounds that contaminated the soil, causing half the livestock in Iceland to perish, while destroying crops, which led to a famine.

It is said the Laki eruption and its aftermath caused a drop in global temperatures and crop failures in Europe and even droughts in North Africa and India.