Iceland review - 2012, Page 26

In Iceland, just about everyone
becomes an amateur geologist,
because the rock formations are
so obvious that you cannot miss
noticing their different features.
When you arrive in Iceland
and drive to the capital city of
Reykjavík, you only need to look out the
window to see that this is a very volcanic
country. The entire route to the city is
through rather bleak, dark grey and rugged
lava flows, and several of them are from his-
toric times, that is, they have erupted from
nearby volcanoes since Iceland was first
settled by the Vikings eleven hundred years
ago. In fact, fourteen of these lava flows
have erupted in historic time. How safe
is this part of Iceland, then, from volcanic
eruptions that will produce lava flows in the
near future?
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge cuts right
through Iceland and it accounts for much
of the volcanism. Just south of Keflavík air-
port, at the end of the Reykjanes peninsula,
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge emerges from the
ocean depths onto dry land. This feature
marks the boundary between the North
American plate to the west and the Eurasian
By Haraldur sigurðsson Photos By PÁll stefÁnsson
Lava, Coming to town
Three out of four Icelanders live in the capital region.
The world-renowned volcanologist Haraldur Sigurðsson
writes about the danger of eruption and a lava flow
that might just be coming to town.  
Christianity fires Krýsuvík fires
Reykjavík
Kleifarvatn
HafnarfjörðurKeflavík
StraumsvíkKeflavík International Airport
reykjanes fires
Historic Lava FLows
Post-settlement of iceland
aprox. 900 aD