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Krafla Volcano | John Seach
Iceland
65.73 N, 16.78 W
summit elevation 650 m
Caldera
Krafla Volcano is located in northern Iceland. It contains a 10 x 8 km caldera, formed during the last interglacial period.
A high temperature geothermal area lies within the caldera. Another geothermal field exists at Námafjall to the south.
In Post-glacial times 18 eruptions have occurred in the Krafla caldera and its nearest surroundings and about 15 in the Námafjall area. Hlídarfjall and Hrafntinnuhryggur domes and ridges were formed during the last glacial period.
The Krafla fissure is 80 km long and 4-10 km wide, with over 1000 tectonic fractures.
Krafla Fires
A rifting eruption began at Krafla Volcano in 1975. The eruption was accompanied by volcanic tremor, earthquakes swarms, vertical ground movements and widening of the fissure, and increased geothermal activity. Some 17 of these volcano-tectonic events occurred from December 1975 to September 1984.
Further reading
Einarsson, P. and Brandsdóttir, B., 1980. Seismological evidence for lateral magma intrusion during the July 1978 deflation of the Krafla volcano in NE-Iceland. Journal of Geophysics, 47(1), pp.160-165.
Tryggvason, E., 1986. Multiple magma reservoirs in a rift zone volcano: Ground deformation and magma transport during the September 1984 eruption of Krafla, Iceland. Journal of volcanology and geothermal research, 28(1-2), pp.1-44.
Krafla Volcano Eruptions
1984, 1981, 1980, 1977, 1975, 1746, 1729, 1728, 1727, 1724.