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Calderas

Grímsvötn

Iceland's most frequently erupting volcano, hidden beneath the Vatnajökull ice cap – its system includes the Laki fissure of the catastrophic 1783 eruption.

Elevation
1,719 m
Last eruption
2011
Confirmed eruptions
76
Max VEI
6
Country
Iceland
Location
64.42° N, 17.32° W
Region (GVP)
Iceland Neovolcanic Rift Volcanic Province
GVP type
Caldera
Tectonic setting
Rift zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Main rock type
Basalt / Picro-Basalt

Show on the timeline GVP entry ↗

Other volcanoes and strong earthquakes within 300 km

About the volcano

Grímsvötn is a caldera covered by the thick ice of Vatnajökull. The volcano's heat melts the ice from below, and every few years the trapped water bursts out from under the glacier in floods called jökulhlaups. The Laki fissure belongs to the Grímsvötn volcanic system: in 1783–1784 it poured out about 15 km³ of lava, and poisonous gases and famine killed about a fifth of Iceland's population and most of its livestock. Sulphurous haze from Laki spread over Europe and contributed to a harsh winter. Grímsvötn's latest eruption, in 2011, was more powerful than that of Eyjafjallajökull a year earlier.

Eruption history

VEI – Volcanic Explosivity Index: 0 = lava outpouring, 4 = like Eyjafjallajökull 2010, 6 = like Pinatubo 1991, 7 = like Tambora 1815. The scale is logarithmic – each step is about 10 times more material.

StartEndVEIVent and dating
21 May 2011 25 May 2011 4 SW part of the caldera · Observations: Reported
1 November 2004 4 November 2004 3 SW and east sides of caldera · Observations: Reported
18 December 1998 28 December 1998 3 South caldera wall · Observations: Reported
30 September 1996 6 November 1996 3 Gjálp (fissure N of caldera rim) · Observations: Reported
28 May 1983 2 June 1983 2 Near south caldera wall · Observations: Reported
15 January 1954 — 1 Observations: Reported
16 May 1938 — 1 8 km N of Svartibunki · Observations: Reported
21 December 1934 26 December 1934 ? Volcano Uncertain: Vatnajökull
30 March 1934 7 April 1934 2 Near south caldera wall · Observations: Reported
29 November 1933 9 December 1933 1 North of Grímsvötn caldera · Observations: Reported
29 September 1922 23 October 1922 2 Observations: Reported
2 July 1919 — 2 Volcano Uncertain
2 July 1910 — ? Observations: Reported
2 July 1897 — 2 Volcano Uncertain
16 November 1891 16 March 1892 2 Observations: Reported
15 January 1883 15 April 1883 2 Observations: Reported
8 January 1873 16 August 1873 4 Observations: Reported
29 August 1867 — 1 Observations: Reported
2 July 1854 — 2 Observations: Reported
16 June 1838 — 2 Observations: Reported
16 May 1816 16 June 1816 2 Observations: Reported
May 1783 26 May 1785 4 Lakagigar (Skaftar) and Grímsvötn · Observations: Reported
February 1774 — 2 Observations: Reported
1768 — 2 Volcano Uncertain: Vatnajökull
15 October 1753 — 2 NE of Palsfjall · Observations: Reported
1730 — ? Observations: Reported
February 1725 — 2 Observations: Reported
6 October 1716 — 2 Observations: Reported
15 October 1706 — 2 Observations: Reported
1697 — ? Observations: Reported
5 November 1684 January 1685 2 Observations: Reported
10 April 1681 — ? Volcano Uncertain: Vatnajökull · Observations: Reported
1665 — ? Observations: Reported
November 1659 — 2 Observations: Reported
24 February 1638 — 2 Observations: Reported
c. 1632 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
1629 — 2 Observations: Reported
c. 1622 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
29 July 1619 — 2 Observations: Reported
c. 1610 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
31 October 1603 November 1603 2 Volcano Uncertain: Vatnajökull; possibly Grímsvötn
7 November 1598 — 3 Observations: Reported
1530 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 1521 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
1510 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 1509 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 1500 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
1490 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 1471 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
1470 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 1469 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
1450 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
1430 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
1390 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
1370 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 1369 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 1354 — ? Observations: Reported
c. 1350 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
May 1341 — 2 Observations: Reported
November 1332 — 2 Observations: Reported
1310 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
1290 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
1270 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
1230 ± 10 years — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 1190 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 1150 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 1090 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 1060 — ? Correlation: Tephrochronology
c. 1010 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 960 — ? Sidereal: Ice Core
c. 910 — ? Correlation: Tephrochronology
c. 50 BCE — 2 Halsagigur · Correlation: Tephrochronology
1,950 BCE ± 100 years — 2 Raudholar and Brunuholar · Correlation: Tephrochronology
3,550 BCE ± 500 years — 0 S of Thordarhyrna (Bergvatnsarhraun) · Correlation: Tephrochronology
4,550 BCE ± 500 years — 0 Laki (Botnahraun) · Correlation: Tephrochronology
8,230 BCE ± 50 years — 6 Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

Data: Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution (#373010) · Wikipedia (pl) · Wikipedia (en)