Krafla () is a volcanic

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

of about 10 km in diameter with a 90 km long fissure zone. It is located in the north of Iceland in the Mývatn region and is situated on the

Iceland hotspot The Iceland hotspot is a hotspot which is partly responsible for the high volcanic activity which has formed the Iceland Plateau and the island of Iceland. Iceland is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world, with eruptions occur ...

atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which forms the

divergent boundary In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary (also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary) is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. Divergent b ...

between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate. Its highest peak reaches up to 818 m and it is 2 km in depth. There have been 29 reported eruptions in recorded history.

Overview

Iceland is a place where it is possible to see plate tectonics at work. It sits astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; the western part of the

island nation An island country, island state or an island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...

is part of the roughly westward-moving North American plate, while the eastern part of the island is part of the roughly eastward-moving Eurasian Plate. The north–south axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge splits Iceland in two, roughly north to south. Along this ridge many of Iceland's most active volcanoes are located; Krafla is one of these. Krafla includes the crater Víti, one of two well-known craters by this name in Iceland (the other is in Askja). The Icelandic word "víti" means "hell". In former times, people often believed hell to be under volcanoes. Víti has a green lake inside of it. South of the Krafla area, but not actually within the caldera is ''Námafjall'', a mountain, beneath which is Hverir, a geothermal area with boiling mudpools and steaming fumaroles.

History

The ''Mývatn fires'' occurred between 1724 and 1729, when many of the

fissure vent A fissure vent, also known as a volcanic fissure, eruption fissure or simply a fissure, is a linear volcanic vent through which lava erupts, usually without any explosive eruption, explosive activity. The vent is often a few metres wide an ...

s opened up. The lava fountains could be seen in the south of the island, and a lava flow destroyed three farms near the village of

Reykjahlíð Reykjahlíð () is a village situated on the shores of Lake Mývatn in the north of Iceland. It is the seat of the municipality of Skútustaðahreppur. It has 227 inhabitants as of 2021. Overview During the so-called Mývatn fires, caused by the ...

, although nobody was harmed. Between 1975 and 1984 there was a volcanic episode within the Krafla volcano. It involved nine volcanic eruptions and fifteen uplift and

subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...

events. This interrupted some of the Krafla drillfields. During these events a large magma chamber emerged. This has been identified by analysing the seismic activity. Since 1977 the Krafla area has been the source of the geothermal energy used by a 60 MWe power station. A survey undertaken in 2006 indicated very high temperatures at depths of between 3 and 5 kilometres, and these favourable conditions led to the development of the first well from the

Iceland Deep Drilling Project The Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) is a geothermal project established in 2000 by a consortium of the National Energy Authority of Iceland (Orkustofnun/OS) and four of Iceland's leading energy companies: Hitaveita Sudurnesja (HS), Landsvir ...

that found magma 2.1 km deep beneath the surface.http://www.iddp.is/ Iceland Deep Drilling Project

Photogallery

Krafla.jpg, Krafla volcanic area Lava flow at Krafla, 1984.jpg, Lava flow during a rift eruption at Krafla, 1984 Lava_ropes_krafla.jpg, Lava ropes at Krafla, June 2007 Krafla_steams.jpg, Steams at Krafla, June 2007 Krafla_Sulfur.jpg, Sulfur deposits at Krafla, June 2007 Krafla_generalview2007.jpg, A general view of Krafla, June 2007 Mudpot22.jpg, Mudpots at Hverir, Námafjall, August 2008 Lava at Vulkan Krafla Iceland 4.JPG, Lava at Krafla Krafla area.JPG, Krafla area Krafla landscape.JPG, Boiling mudpools Krafla_Viti.jpg, Víti crater and lake Small lake in Krafla.jpg, Small lake in Krafla

References

External links

Krafla
in the

Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes Catalog or catalogue may refer to: *Cataloging **'emmy on the 'og **in science and technology *** Library catalog, a catalog of books and other media ****Union catalog, a combined library catalog describing the collections of a number of librarie ...

*
Volcanism

Univ. of Iceland: Information about Krafla

Energy from magma at Krafla
{{Authority control Volcanoes of Iceland Mountains of Iceland Active volcanoes Volcanic crater lakes VEI-4 volcanoes Fissure vents North Volcanic Zone of Iceland Volcanic systems of Iceland Calderas of Iceland

Overview

History

Photogallery

See also

References

External links