Get our newsletter!
Check out our volcano tours on VolcanoAdventures.com!
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - app for iPhone & iPad

Volcano Calendar 2019
Volcano Calendar 2019: We're proud to present our 2019 volcano calendar: 13 different and attractive images of volcanoes, volcanic landscapes and phenomena taken during volcano tours over the past few years.
Our New Book
Volcano Discoveries: "One of the most eye-catching guides to the world’s volcanoes ever published.
Volcano Travel
VolcanoAdventures: Our professional team of volcanologists and photographers offers unique travel opportunities: volcano expeditions, photo tours, and relaxed walking & study tours.
Volcano Adventure Guide
The Volcano Adventure Guide: Excellent information and background for anyone wishing to visit active volcanoes safely and enjoyably. The book presents guidelines to visiting 42 different volcanoes around the world.
Guaranteed tours:
25 May - 1 Jun 2019: Etna Discovery - Etna volcano (Italy)
15-30 Jun 2019: From Krakatau to Bali - Java (Indonesia)
8-23 Jul 2019: From Krakatau to Bali - Java (Indonesia)
12-30 Aug 2019: Kamchatka - Land of Colors - Kamchatka (Russia)
13-29 Aug 2019: Volcanoes of Java - Java (Indonesia)
14-17 Aug 2019: Krakatau Volcano Special - Krakatau volcano (Indonesia)
1-19 Sep 2019: Kamchatka - Land of Colors - Kamchatka (Russia)
3-18 Sep 2019: From Krakatau to Bali - Java (Indonesia)
: spaces available / : guaranteed / : few spaces left / : booked out
Random pictures
Öraefajökull's glacier-covered caldera seen from the air (photo: (c)Tom Pfeiffer)
Öraefajökull's glacier-covered caldera seen from the air (photo: (c)Tom Pfeiffer)
Latest news:
Öraefajökull volcano (Iceland): continuing seismic unrest cause worries about potential reawakening
Earthquakes under Öræfajökull during the past 7 days
Thursday, Oct 25, 2018
The volcano is continuing to show signs of unrest. Over the past months, elevated numbers of small earthquakes have continued to occur beneath the glacier-covered volcano, suggesting that fresh magma has been accumulating at shallow depth around 5 km. ... [more]
Oeraefajökull volcano (Iceland): alert level lowered back to normal (green)
Saturday, May 05, 2018
On 4 May, the Icelandic Met Office reduced the Aviation Color Code at Öræfajökull from Yellow to Green due to signs of reduced activity. Since September 2017 there has been less earthquake activity, stable hydrological and geochemical measurements, and reduced geothermal heat output. There has been possible minor ongoing inflation, but no signs of an imminent eruption. [more]

 

Öraefajökull volcano

Stratovolcano 2119 m (6,952 ft)
Iceland, 64°N / -16.65°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5) | Reports
Öraefajökull volcano books | Tours
Last update: 25 Oct 2018 (seismic unrest)
Typical eruption style:

Explosive.


Öraefajökull volcano eruptions: 1362 (Plinian eruption), 1727-28 (sub-Plinian)
TimeMag. / DepthDistanceLocation
Sun, 19 May 2019
Sun, 19 May 14:36 UTCM 0.4 / 0.1 km20 km20.5 km ENE of Hvannadalshnjúkur (Iceland)
Sun, 19 May 14:25 UTCM 0.7 / 1.1 km4 km2.8 km WSW of Hvannadalshnjúkur (Iceland)
Sun, 19 May 14:25 UTCM 0.4 / 0.1 km5 km4.3 km WSW of Hvannadalshnjúkur (Iceland)
Sun, 19 May 06:44 UTCM 0.4 / 0.1 km1 km3.1 km SE of Hvannadalshnjúkur (Iceland)
Sun, 19 May 06:44 UTCM 0.5 / 9.3 km1 km2.0 km SSE of Hvannadalshnjúkur (Iceland)
View all recent quakes
Öraefajökull, Iceland's highest peak, is probably Iceland's most violent volcano. A major silicic eruption in 1362 was Iceland's largest historical explosive eruption. It and another eruption during 1727-28 were accompanied by major jökulhlaups (glacier outburst floods) that caused property damage and fatalities.

Background:

Öraefajökull is a broad glacier-clad central volcano at the SE end of the Vatnajökull icecap. A 4 x 5 km subglacial caldera truncates the summit of the basaltic and rhyolitic volcano. The largest-volume volcano in Iceland, 2119-m-high Öraefajökull was mostly constructed during the Pleistocene. Holocene activity has been dominated by explosive summit eruptions, although flank lava effusions have also occurred.

---
Source: GVP, Smithsonian Institution


Latest satellite images


 

More on VolcanoDiscovery:

I-felt-an earthquake
"I felt it" reports : Read how people experienced recent earthquakes.
Indonesia
Photos from Indonesia: Hundreds of photos from Indonesia's volcanoes, landscapes, people and culture.
Anatomy of a vulcanian explosion
A violent vulcanian-type explosion from Anak Krakatau in pictures step by step.
Pilot tours
Exploring the unknown: We sometimes invite you to "test" new itineraries or destinations with us. Such trips are a reduced cost and require a higher degree of flexibility, but often offer a great deal of adventure.
Copyrights: VolcanoDiscovery and other sources as noted.
Use of material: Text and images on this webpage are copyrighted. Further reproduction and use without authorization is not consented. If you need licensing rights for photographs, for example for publications and commercial use, please contact us.