Skip to main content
← Back to map
⇄ Compare

Seltún

Krysuvik-Trolladyngja

Crater rows · Iceland · 360m

The Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja volcanic system consists of NE-SW-trending crater rows and small shield volcanoes cutting the central Reykjanes Peninsula west of Kleifarvatn lake (top center). Several eruptions have taken place since the settlement of Iceland, including the emplacement of a large lava flow from the Ogmundargigar crater row around the 12th century. The lava flow was confined to the valley between the two parallel ridges (top left), before reaching the southern coast of the Reykjanes Peninsula (lower right) along a broad front.
The Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja volcanic system consists of NE-SW-trending crater rows and small shield volcanoes cutting the central Reykjanes Peninsula west of Kleifarvatn lake (top center). Several eruptions have taken place since the settlement of Iceland, including the emplacement of a large lava flow from the Ogmundargigar crater row around the 12th century. The lava flow was confined to the valley between the two parallel ridges (top left), before reaching the southern coast of the Reykjanes Peninsula (lower right) along a broad front. · Photo: Photo by Oddur Sigurdsson, 1983 (Icelandic National Energy Authority). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Crater rows
Country
Iceland
Region
Atlantic Ocean Volcanic Regions / Iceland Neovolcanic Rift Volcanic Province
Elevation
360m
Coordinates
63.917, -22.067
Last eruption
1340
Tectonic setting
Rift zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Cluster
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Geological summary

The Krýsuvík-Trölladyngja volcanic system is described by the Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes as an approximately 50-km-long composite fissure swarm trending about N38°E, including a 30-km-long swarm of fissures, with no central volcano. It is one of the volcanic systems arranged en-echelon along the Reykjanes Peninsula west of Kleifarvatn lake. The Fagradalsfjall and Krýsuvík fissure swarms are considered splits or secondary swarms of the Krýsuvík–Trölladyngja volcanic system. Small shield volcanoes have produced a large portion of the erupted volume within the system. Several eruptions have taken place since the settlement of Iceland, including the eruption of a large basaltic lava flow from the Ogmundargigar crater row around the 12th century. The latest eruption, identified through tephrochronology, took place during the 14th century.

From Wikipedia

The volcanic system of Krýsuvík, is situated in the south–west of Iceland on the Reykjanes peninsula. It is located in the middle of Reykjanes and on the divergent plate boundary of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which traverses Iceland. It was named after the Krýsuvík area which is part of it and consists of a fissure system without a central volcano. However, there are some indications—namely, the discovery by geophysical methods of what scientists interpret as a buried caldera, combined with the well-known, vigorous hydrothermal system above it—that an embryonic central magma chamber may already exist or be actively developing.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
8500 BCE~8172 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 06204 BCE~5876 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 05548 BCE~5220 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21284 BCE~956 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 0300 BCE~28 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 2684~1012 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 21012~1340 · 5 eruptions · max VEI 18500 BCE6204 BCE3580 BCE1284 BCE1012

Detailed timeline

  1. 1340VEI 1Geological estimate
    1340 – Ongoing
    Tradarfjöll
  2. 1325VEI 1Geological estimate
    1325 – Ongoing
    Elborg vid Trolladyngju
  3. 1188VEI 1Observed
    1188 – Ongoing
    Mavahlidargigir
  4. 1151VEI 1Observed
    1151 – Ongoing
    Ogmundargigar and other vents
  5. 1075 (±75 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    1075 – Ongoing
    Gvendarselsgigar
  6. 900VEI 2Geological estimate
    900 – Ongoing
    Melholl, Afstapahraun
  7. 190 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI 2Geological estimate
    BCE 190 – Ongoing
    Obrinnisholar
  8. 1060 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 1060 – Ongoing
    Sandfellskofagigir
  9. 5290 BCE (±150 yrs)VEI 2Geological estimate
    BCE 5290 – Ongoing
    Burfell
  10. 6000 BCEVEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 6000 – Ongoing
    Hrútagjár
  11. 8500 BCEVEI 0Geological estimate
    BCE 8500 – Ongoing
    Hagafell

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.