ICELAND VOLCANO: September 2011

Iceland Volcano: Langjökull volcano

Langjökull volcano Data:

Stratovolcano volcano (subglacial) 1360 m (4,462 ft)
Iceland, 64.75°N / -19.98°W
Current status: dormant (1 of 5)
Typical eruption style: Large effusive eruptions from flank fissures, explosive activity from the summit crater.
Eruptions from Langjökull volcano: ca. 925 AD. The Langjökull central volcano lies at the northern end of an active volcanic zone that extends to the NE from the Reykjanes Peninsula.

Langjökull volcano Background:
Langjökull volcano occupies the NE half of the massive Langjökull icecap, east of the prominent Pleistocene table mountain, Erikskökull. A summit caldera lies beneath the ice. Several shield volcanoes have been constructed along flank fissure zones, and postglacial lava flows flank Langjökull on the northern, western, and eastern sides. One of the most prominent of these is a small shield volcano that was formed at the site of the massive Hallmundahraun lava flow, which covers 200 sq km, and was erupted shortly after 900 AD.
The Geysir thermal area, containing Iceland's largest geysers, lies in the Haukadalur basin, near the southern end of the lengthy fissure system extending from Langjökull central volcano.
Iceland Volcano

Iceland Volcano: Prestahnukur volcano

Prestahnukur volcano Data:

shield volcano (subglacial) 1390 m (4,560 ft) (?)
SW Iceland, 64.60°N / 20.58°W
Current status: (probably) extinct (0 of 5)
Typical eruption style: effusive (lava flows).
Eruptions from Prestahnukur: none during historic times, last eruption radiocarbon-dated at 7550 BC +-500 years

Prestahnukur volcano Background:
The massive subglacial Prestahnukur volcano at the SW end of the Langjökull icecap has associated rift zones to the north and SW that have erupted during the past 10,000 years.

Hot springs are associated with the rhyolitic Prestahnukur central volcano. The classic Icelandic shield volcano Skjaldbreidur was formed at the southern end of the Prestahnukur volcanic system, between Thorsjökull glacier and Thingvallavatn lake. The broad, low-angle shield volcano produced 17 cu km of basaltic lava flows during the early Holocene.
Iceland Volcano..