The Icelandic Volcanoes
Iceland is famous worldwide for their dramatic volcanoes. More and more tourist comes to Iceland to discover this unique nature experience.
Iceland has many volcanoes due being situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This ridge is a 40.000 km crack in the ocean floor caused by the separation of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
History
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge has made Iceland into a landmass between the submarine Reykjanes Ridge to the south-west and the Kolbeinsey Ridge to the north and has been active during the last 20-25 million years, broadly coinciding with the time-span of active volcanism in Iceland. Today Iceland has around 130 active or inactive volcanoes.
Volcanic Eruption
Between August 2014 and March 2015 in Holuhraun in Bardarbunga, that's in the interior of the country, just north of Vatnajökull glacier, there was the last big volcanic eruption in Iceland.
No-one ever died because of direct contact with a volcano in Iceland, because of being run over by a flow of lava. Indirectly the volcanoes have nevertheless been very deadly.
Volcano Adventures
Even though you've read and heard stories of about the destructive powers of Icelandic volcanoes, don't be put off to come to this land of ice and fire.
Although volcano tourism had already started in Iceland, with the Eyjafjallajökull eruptions in 2010, the interest became even bigger. thousands of people hiking, driving, snowmobiling or flying to the craters.
Nobody was harmed during the eruption and the people that made the trip got to witness a spectacular show of the forces of nature! Widely recommended experiencing this amazing natural wonder from a arrange trip by a local tour operator.
