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Grimsvotn Volcano - John Seach
Iceland
64.42 N, 17.33 W
summit elevation 1725 m
caldera
Grimsvötn volcano is located under Vatnajökull ice cap in central Iceland. Two major volcanic centers lie beneath the ice, the Bardarbunga volcanic centre and the Grimsvötn volcanic centre. Grimsvötn centre is the more active of the two. About every 5-10 years glacial melting causes large floods (jökulhlaup) on the sandur plain.
Laki fissure (25 km fracture) erupted in 1783 with basalt lava flows for 70 km. The lava flow covered 565 square km (12 cubic km). Large amounts of gas were produced in the eruption which covered most of Europe in a blue haze.
Fluorine was released by the eruption and cattle died from eating the contaminated grass. Over 200 000 livestock were killed in Iceland and the resulting famine resulted in 10 000 deaths.
Grimsvötn Volcano Eruptions
2004, 1998, 1996, 1984?, 1983, 1972?, 1954, 1948?, 1945, 1941?, 1939?, 1938, 1934, 1934, 1933,1922, 1902-04, 1897, 1891-91, 1887-89, 1883, 1873, 1867, 1861?, 1854, 1838, 1823, 1816, 1794?, 1783-85, 1774, 1768, 1753, 1725, 1716, 1706, 1684-85, 1681, 1659, 1638, 1629, 1619, 1603, 1598, 1500?, 1354?, 1341, 1332, 1060?, 905?