--- title: "Massive Icelandic Volcano Erupts, Spews Lava Hundreds of Feet Into the Air" description: "Following tens of thousands of earthquakes rocking southwest Iceland, a massive volcano erupted early Tuesday morning local time." date: "2023-12-18" modified: "2023-12-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/icelandic-volcano-erupts-spews-lava-hundreds-feet" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "earth science" - "Iceland" - "the digest" - "volcano" --- # Massive Icelandic Volcano Erupts, Spews Lava Hundreds of Feet Into the Air ![Following tens of thousands of earthquakes rocking southwest Iceland, a massive volcano erupted early Tuesday morning local time.]() *\Image: Thrainn Kolbeinsson via Threads\* ## Volcano! Following [tens of thousands of earthquakes]() rocking the Reykjanes Peninsula southwest of Iceland's capital Reykjavík, a massive volcano officially erupted early Tuesday morning local time. As [*The New York Times* reports](), officials are now worried about an impending disaster. "We are looking at a worst-case scenario," volcanologist Thorvaldur Thordarson told the newspaper. "The eruption appears big, and only about two kilometers from major infrastructure." Officials are particularly worried about the eruption's proximity to the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power plant. Footage being shared on social media shows gigantic plumes of lava being spewed into the sky. "Unreal," Iceland-based nature photographer Thrainn Kolbeinsson wrote in a [Threads post](). "Way bigger and more powerful than the last few eruptions." Footage shot from a coast guard helicopter shows an almost apocalyptic scene, with a massive wall of lava lighting up the nighttime scene. According to the *NYT*, some of these lava fountains are reaching up to 330 feet and are visible from the center of Reykjavík. "There are super-high plumes of magma," Thordarson [told the *Iceland Monitor*](). "Now it’s a total guess, but the highest plumes are probably 150 meters \[492 feet\]." https://twitter.com/shaksper/status/1736894782117396811 ## Evacuated Fortunately, the nearby town of Grindavík was evacuated weeks ago due to heightened seismic activity. At the time, massive [steaming cracks]() opened up in the ground surrounding the town of 4,000 residents, which is less than an hour away from the island nation's capital. Per the *Iceland Monitor*, it's the fourth eruption to rock the Reykjanes peninsula in just three years. The catalyst appears to have been a 4.2 magnitude quake that hit the area around 9 pm Monday evening local time. **More on the earthquake:** *[Huge Crack Opens Up in Iceland, Steam Pouring Forth]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()