Krafla

Background

History & Background

The 'Krafla Fires' (1975–1984) were a series of volcanic eruptions that disrupted a geothermal drilling project that was underway at the time — drilling rigs had to be abandoned as lava flowed toward them. The eruptions produced spectacular lava lakes in the Víti crater. The most recent activity produced the Leirhnjúkur lava field, which still steams and remains warm to walk across today.

Krafla is one of Iceland's best-known volcanic systems and a key geological stop in the Lake Mývatn area. The system lies on the active rift zone where the North American and Eurasian plates are pulling apart, and its landscape includes fissures, lava fields, geothermal areas and the broad Krafla caldera. The most famous modern episode was the Krafla Fires of 1975–1984. During that period repeated magma intrusions opened and reactivated fissures across the system, with nine intrusions ending in eruptions. The young black lava around Leirhnjúkur remains one of the clearest places for visitors to see the results of that activity. Another major landmark is Víti, a roughly 300-metre-wide explosion crater formed at the beginning of the Mývatn Fires in 1724. A paved road leads toward the crater from Route 1. Krafla is therefore not one single viewpoint but a broader volcanic landscape, best understood by combining Víti, Leirhnjúkur and nearby geothermal features. Visitors should stay on established routes and remember that conditions can change quickly in this exposed highland-edge environment.