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Kverkfjöll

Kverkfjoll

Stratovolcano · Iceland · 1930m

Kverkfjöll, seen here from the north, is a subglacial volcano at the northern end of the Vatnajökull icecap, west of Bárdarbunga. The Dyngjujökull glacier, an outflow sheet of the Vatnajökull icecap, appears in the foreground during a 1977 glacial surge. The dark ridge on the left, seen here separated from the outflow sheet by a stream, is a lava flow from about 4,500 to 6,100 years ago.
Kverkfjöll, seen here from the north, is a subglacial volcano at the northern end of the Vatnajökull icecap, west of Bárdarbunga. The Dyngjujökull glacier, an outflow sheet of the Vatnajökull icecap, appears in the foreground during a 1977 glacial surge. The dark ridge on the left, seen here separated from the outflow sheet by a stream, is a lava flow from about 4,500 to 6,100 years ago. · Photo: Photo by Oddur Sigurdsson, 1977 (Icelandic National Energy Authority). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Iceland
Region
Atlantic Ocean Volcanic Regions / Iceland Neovolcanic Rift Volcanic Province
Elevation
1930m
Coordinates
64.653, -16.647
Last eruption
1968
Tectonic setting
Rift zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt
Geological summary

Kverkfjöll is a large subglacial volcano at the NE end of the Vatnajökull icecap. Two elliptical ice-filled calderas, each about 8 x 5 km in size, have been identified. An associated fissure swarm can be traced 60 km to the NE. A half dozen ridges of subglacially erupted pillow lavas are now exposed and extend beyond the glacial icecap to the NE. Subglacial historical eruptions have been recorded since the mid-17th century. Several other historical eruptions once attributed to Kverkfjöll are now thought to have originated from Bárdarbunga volcano to the west.

From Wikipedia

Kverkfjöll is a potentially active central volcano, fissure swarm, and associated mountain range situated on the northern border of the glacier Vatnajökull in Iceland.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
7050 BCE~6749 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?5246 BCE~4946 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1367~1667 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 01667~1968 · 5 eruptions · max VEI 17050 BCE4946 BCE2541 BCE437 BCE1667

Detailed timeline

  1. 1968VEI 0Observed
    1968-05-23 – 1968-06-16
  2. 1959VEI 1Observed
    1959-07-02 – Ongoing
  3. 1929VEI 1Observed
    1929-01 – 1929-02
    Hveradalur area
  4. 1729VEI 1Observed
    1729-02-15 – Ongoing
  5. 1729VEI 1Observed
    1729-08 – Ongoing
  6. 1655VEI 0Observed
    1655-04-15 – Ongoing
  7. 5000 BCE (±1000 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 5000 – Ongoing
    Krepputunguhraun, Kverfjallahraun
  8. 7050 BCEVEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 7050 – Ongoing
    Arnadalsoldugjoska

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.