Öræfajökull
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Öræfajökull (; ' Öræfi glacier' or 'wasteland glacier') is an ice-covered
volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
in south-east
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. The largest active volcano and the highest peak in Iceland at , it lies within the
Vatnajökull National Park Vatnajökull National Park ( is, Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður ) is one of three national parks in Iceland. It encompasses all of Vatnajökull glacier and extensive surrounding areas. These include the national parks previously existing at Skaftafell ...
and is covered by part of the glacier. The original Norse settlers named the volcano Knappafellsjǫkull (
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
: ;
Modern Icelandic Icelandic (; is, íslenska, link=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Due to being a West Scandinavian language, it is most closely re ...
: Hnappafellsjökull ; 'knobs mountain glacier'). The current name, ''Öræfajökull'', was eventually adopted after the 1362 eruption.


Description

Öræfajökull is located at the southern extremity of the
Vatnajökull Vatnajökull ( Icelandic pronunciation: , literally "Glacier of Lakes"; sometimes translated as Vatna Glacier in English) is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland, and the second largest in area in Europe after the Severny Island ice ...
glacier and overlooking the
Ring Road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
between
Höfn Höfn () or Höfn í Hornafirði () is an Icelandic fishing town in the southeastern part of the country. It lies near Hornafjörður fjord. The town, the second largest in the southeastern part of Iceland, offers scenic views of Vatnajökull (t ...
and Vík. It is the largest active volcano in the country, and on the
summit crater A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During volcanic eruptions, molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an unde ...
's northwestern rim is Hvannadalshnúkur, the highest peak in Iceland at . Geographically, Öræfajökull is considered part of
Vatnajökull Vatnajökull ( Icelandic pronunciation: , literally "Glacier of Lakes"; sometimes translated as Vatna Glacier in English) is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland, and the second largest in area in Europe after the Severny Island ice ...
, and the area covered by glacier is within the boundary of
Vatnajökull National Park Vatnajökull National Park ( is, Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður ) is one of three national parks in Iceland. It encompasses all of Vatnajökull glacier and extensive surrounding areas. These include the national parks previously existing at Skaftafell ...
.


Activity

Öræfajökull has erupted twice in historical times, in 1362 and 1728.


1362 eruption

In 1362, Knappafellsjökull erupted explosively, ejecting 10 cubic kilometres of
tephra Tephra is fragmental material produced by a volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism. Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, they rem ...
, similar in scale to the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. The wealthy district of Litlahérað was destroyed by
flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
s,
pyroclastic flow A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of bu ...
s and
ashfall The Ashfall Fossil Beds of Antelope County in northeastern Nebraska are rare fossil sites of the type called lagerstätten that, due to extraordinary local conditions, capture an ecological "snapshot" in time of a range of well-preserved fossil ...
. Sailors reported pumice “in such masses that ships could hardly make their way through it.” Thick volcanic deposits obliterated farmland, and ash travelled as far as
western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
. More than 40 years passed before people again settled the area, which became known as Öræfi. The name literally means 'an area without harbour,' but it took on a meaning of 'wasteland' in Icelandic, as the 1362 eruption had drastically altered the environment around the mountain. The volcano likewise took on the new name Öræfajökull.


1728 eruption

An eruption in August 1727-28 was smaller than 1362, though floods are known to have caused three fatalities when the meltwater swept their farm away.


2017 activity

Increased earthquake activity in the form of small tremors ranging from a depth of 1.5–10 km beneath the summit crater, began in August 2017 according to the
Icelandic Meteorological Office Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO; is, Veðurstofa Íslands) is Iceland's national weather service and as such a government agency under the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. It is also active in volcano monitoring, esp. volc ...
. The Aviation Colour Code of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
was raised to yellow on 17 November 2017, after the appearance of an
ice cauldron Ice cauldrons are ice formations within glaciers that cover some subglacial volcanoes. They can have circular to oblong forms. Their surface areas reach from some meters (as indentations or holes in the ice) to up to 1 or more kilometers (as bow ...
inside the main crater and increased geothermal activity under the glacier.


2018 activity

The seismic and geothermal activity which began in August 2017 continued into 2018, but at reduced levels. On 4 May 2018, the Icelandic Meteorological Office lowered the Aviation Colour Code to green. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Activity Archives for Öræfajökull
Retrieved Aug. 26, 2021.


See also

*
Geography of Iceland Iceland ( ) is an island country at the confluence of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, east of Greenland and immediately south of the Arctic Circle, atop the constructive boundary of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge about from Scotland and ...
*
Glaciers of Iceland The glaciers and ice caps of Iceland cover 11% of the land area of the country (about 11,400 km² out of the total area of 103,125 km²) and have a considerable impact on its landscape and meteorology. Glaciers are also contributing to ...
*
Iceland plume The Iceland hotspot is a hotspot (geology), 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 volcano, volcanic regions in the ...
*
List of lakes of Iceland This is a list of lakes of Iceland (partially indicating surface, depth and volume). Iceland has over 20 lakes larger than 10 km² (4 sq mi), and at least 40 others varying between 2.5 and 10 km² (1 to 4 sq mi) in size. This list also in ...
*
List of islands of Iceland This is a list of islands of Iceland. It includes all islands larger than 1 km2, as well as a number of smaller islands that are considered significant either because they are or used to be inhabited, or for specific historical, geographical ...
*
List of volcanoes in Iceland This list of volcanoes in Iceland includes active and dormant volcanic mountains, of which 18 have erupted since human settlement of Iceland began around 900 AD. __TOC__ List Volcanic zones and systems Iceland has four major volcanic z ...
*
List of rivers of Iceland On an island like Iceland, the rivers are short in length. None of the rivers are important as a means of navigation due to the impracticality of settlements in the Highlands of Iceland where they originate. South * Hvítá * Krossá * Kúðaflj ...
*
Volcanism of Iceland :''The volcano system in Iceland that started activity on August 17, 2014, and ended on February 27, 2015, is Bárðarbunga.'' :''The volcano in Iceland that erupted in May 2011 is Grímsvötn.'' Iceland experiences frequent volcanic activity, d ...
*
Waterfalls of Iceland Iceland is unusually suited for waterfalls (Icelandic: s. ''foss,'' pl. ''fossar''). This island country has a north Atlantic climate that produces frequent rain and snow and a near-Arctic location that produces large glaciers, whose summer mel ...


References


External links


Öræfajökull
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 ...

Volcano Images of Europe

Photos of Öræfajökull
www.Icelandportfolio.com
Öræfajökull
at the
Global Volcanism Program The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP) documents Earth's volcanoes and their eruptive history over the past 10,000 years. The mission of the GVP is to document, understand, and disseminate information about global volcanic a ...

Google Earth view

Official Website of Vatnajökull National Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oraefajokull Southern Region (Iceland) Stratovolcanoes of Iceland Mountains of Iceland Glaciers of Iceland VEI-6 volcanoes Active volcanoes Öræfajökull Belt Two-thousanders of Iceland 1362 1727 natural disasters Subglacial calderas Subglacial volcanoes of Iceland Calderas of Iceland Central volcanoes of Iceland