Iceland's location on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, above the Iceland hotspot, means that the island and its surroundings are a site of highly frequent volcanic eruptions.

Index map of eruptions, fissures, glaciers and notable sites

Volcanic zones and systems

Iceland has several major volcanic zones surrounding the Iceland hotspot:

East volcanic zone (EVZ)

The East Volcanic Zone (EVZ), the central volcanoes Vonarskarð and Hágöngur, belong to the same volcanic system. The southern propagating rift region of the EVZ with more tendency to explosive eruption characteristics is known as the Southern Iceland Volcanic Zone (SIVZ).

Features within the East Volcanic Zone include:

Kolbeinsey Ridge (KR)

The Kolbeinsey Ridge is a segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge located to the north of Iceland in the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded to the south by the Tjörnes Fracture Zone, which connects the submarine ridge to the on-shore Northern Volcanic Zone rifting center in eastern Iceland. The volcanic islands Kolbeinsey and Grímsey lie along the Kolbeinsey Ridge.

Mid-Iceland Belt (MIB)

The Mid-Iceland belt (MIB) connects the East, West and North volcanic zones, across central Iceland.

North volcanic zone (NVZ)

North of Iceland, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is called Kolbeinsey Ridge (KR) and is connected to the North Volcanic Zone via the Tjörnes Fracture Zone (TFZ).

Volcanoes within the North Volcanic Zone include:

Öræfajökull volcanic belt (ÖVB) The Öræfajökull volcanic belt (ÖVB, also Öræfi volcanic belt) is an intraplate volcanic belt, connected to the Eurasian plate.

Reykjanes volcanic zone (RVZ) The Reykjanes volcanic zone (RVZ or Reykjanes volcanic belt, RVB) contains multiple fissure vent orientated volcanic systems including one with a similar name. It is the continuation of the Reykjanes Ridge (RR) (the Mid-Atlantic Ridge south of Iceland and intersects to its north-east at Hengill with the WVZ and the South Iceland seismic zone (SISZ, also known as the Reykjanes fracture zone, RFZ).

Features in this zone include:

Snæfellsnes volcanic belt (SVB) The Snæfellsnes volcanic belt (SVB) is an intraplate volcanic belt, connected to the North American plate.

It is proposed that the east–west line from the Grímsvötn volcano in the Mid-Iceland Belt (MIB) to the SVB shows the movement of the North American Plate over the Iceland hotspot.

Features of the Snæfellsnes volcanic belt include Snæfellsjökull and smaller volcanoes on Snæfellsnes, plus Helgafell.

South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ)

The South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ) is a fracture zone, which connects the East and West Volcanic Zones. It contains its own volcanic systems, smaller than those in the Mid-Iceland Belt. The SISZ is a set of major and active transform faults striking west-northwest in southwestern Iceland, being one of two large fracture zones, associated with such transform faults, striking about 75°N to 80°W, the other being the Tjörnes Fracture Zone.

Features within the South Iceland Seismic Zone include the towns of Selfoss, Vík, Hvolsvöllur and probably Þingvellir the old meeting place of the Alþing.

Tjörnes Fracture Zone (TFZ)

The Tjörnes Fracture Zone (TFZ) connects the North Volcanic Zone to the Kolbeinsey Ridge (KR), which is part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It contains its own volcanic systems, which are smaller than those in the Mid-Iceland Belt.

It is one of two major and active transform faults zones striking west-northwest in northern and southern Iceland. The Tjörnes and Reykjanes Fracture Zones are found striking about 75°N to 80°W.

West volcanic zone (WVZ)

Features within the West Volcanic Zone include:Kortabók Mál og Menningar, Reykjavík 2005, pp.48/49 and 55/56, icel.

Chronological list of eruptions Prehistoric eruptions Dates are approximate. Please see individual articles that may have more date detail.