COUNTRIES | Geographic.org | GEOLOGY | USA STATISTICS | CHINA STATS | COUNTRY CODES | AIRPORTS | RELIGION | JOBS

Volcano Photos

Oraefajokull Volcano, Iceland

 Oraefajokull Volcano, Iceland, Volcano photo


Oraefajokull Volcano, Iceland

Oraefajokull, Iceland's highest peak, is viewed here from the west, with the Svinafellsjokull glacier (left) descending from the central icecap nearly to the coastal road.

A 4 x 5 km subglacial caldera truncates the summit, which rises to 2119 m about 10 km NW of the Atlantic Ocean shoreline.

A major silicic eruption in 1362 was the largest in Iceland during historical time.

It and another eruption during 1727-28 were accompanied by major jokulhlaups (glacier outburst floods) that caused property damage and fatalities.

Oraefajokull, Iceland's highest peak, is a broad glacier-clad central volcano at the SE end of the Vatnajokull icecap.

A 4 x 5 km subglacial caldera truncates the summit of the dominantly basaltic and rhyolitic volcano.

The extensive summit icecap is drained through deep glacial valleys dissecting the SW-to-SE flanks of the volcano.

The largest-volume volcano in Iceland, 2119-m-high Oraefajokull was mostly constructed during Pleistocene glacial and interglacial periods.

Holocene activity has been dominated by explosive summit eruptions, although flank lava effusions have also occurred.

A major silicic eruption in 1362 AD was Iceland's largest historical explosive eruption.

It and another eruption during 1727-28 were accompanied by major jokulhlaups (glacier outburst floods) that caused property damage and fatalities.

PHOTO SOURCE: Oddur Sigurdsson, 1986, (Orkustofnon, Icelandic National Energy Authority), courtesy of the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, used with permission.


NOTE: The information regarding Volcano on this page is re-published from other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Volcano information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Volcano photos should be addressed to the copyright owner noted below the photo.





Please bookmark this page (add it to your favorites).

This page was last modified 16-Jul-2015, Copyright © 1995-2020 ITA all rights reserved.