Vatnafjöll
Encyclopedia
Vatnafjöll is a 40 km long, 9 km (6 mi) wide basalt
ic fissure vent
system that is located southeast of Hekla
, Iceland
. It is part of the same system as Hekla. More than two dozen eruptions have occurred at Vatnafjöll during the Holocene Epoch
. Vatnafjöll last erupted about 1200 years ago.
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic fissure vent
Fissure vent
A fissure vent, also known as a volcanic fissure or simply fissure, is a linear volcanic vent through which lava erupts, usually without any explosive activity. The vent is usually a few meters wide and may be many kilometers long. Fissure vents can cause large flood basalts and lava channels...
system that is located southeast of Hekla
Hekla
Hekla is a stratovolcano located in the south of Iceland with a height of . Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano since 874. During the Middle Ages, Icelanders called the volcano the "Gateway to Hell."Hekla is part of a volcanic...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. It is part of the same system as Hekla. More than two dozen eruptions have occurred at Vatnafjöll during the Holocene Epoch
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
. Vatnafjöll last erupted about 1200 years ago.