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 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 ...

in the

Mývatn () is a shallow lake situated in an area of active volcanism in the north of Iceland, not far from Krafla volcano. It has a high amount of biological activity. The lake and the surrounding wetlands provides a habitat for a number of waterbirds, e ...

region and is situated on the Iceland hotspot atop the

Mid-Atlantic Ridge The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge (a divergent or constructive plate boundary) located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. In the North Atlantic, the ridge separates the North ...

, which forms the divergent boundary between the

North American Plate The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacif ...

and the

Eurasian Plate The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate that includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia), with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent and ...

. Its highest peak reaches up to 818 m and it is 2 km in depth. There have been 29 reported eruptions in

recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...

Overview

Iceland is a place where it is possible to see

plate tectonics Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...

at work. It sits astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; the western part of the island nation 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 Askja () is an active volcano situated in a remote part of the central highlands of Iceland. The name Askja refers to a complex of nested calderas within the surrounding Dyngjufjöll mountains, which rise to , ''askja'' meaning ''box'' or '' ...

). 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

fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

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 activity. The vent is often a few metres wide and may be many kilom ...

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 events. This interrupted some of the Krafla drillfields. During these events a large

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

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 power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

. 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 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