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A volcano erupted southwest of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, the country’s meteorological office says.
The Seltun geothermal area is located near the Fagradalsfjall volcano, which has just erupted in Iceland.
Photo: 123rf
It warns the public of falling rocks and boulders, and also landslides when the eruption began, on Fagradalsfjall Mountain on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
This comes after the area recorded more than 50,000 earthquakes in the past three weeks.
In 2010, the eruption of another volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, brought air traffic to a halt across Europe.
However, the Fagradalsfjall eruption is not expected to release much ash or smoke, so aviation should not be disrupted.
The red glow of magma is seen rising from the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano behind the town of Keflavik in Iceland.
Photo: AFP
Iceland’s Meteorological Office says the Fagradalsfjall eruption was confirmed Friday night via webcams and satellite images.
A coast guard helicopter was dispatched to survey the area, some 30 kilometers from Reykjavik.
He later posted the first images of the lava snaking down after the eruption.
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck 1.2 km from Fagradalsfjall just a few hours earlier.
The rift valley in Iceland marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
Photo: 123rf
Iceland frequently experiences tremors when straddling two tectonic plates, moving in opposite directions.
The country is the only place in the world where the mid-Atlantic rift is visible on the ocean’s surface.
-BBC
