After weeks of seismic teasing and evacuations, a volcano in Iceland has finally erupted, coating the entire Reykjanes Peninsula in ash and magma.
On Monday night, a 2.5-mile-long fissure emerged near Keflavik International Airport, producing massive lava fountains reaching up to 300 feet. While that number has since decreased significantly, per NBC News, it appears things still could have been worse.
A volcano erupted in Iceland last night
— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) December 19, 2023
The footage is a sight to behold
h/t @BSteinbekk pic.twitter.com/nFzAYFTDb0
Aerial view of the volcano in Grindavik, Iceland. pic.twitter.com/WTrFNxTbtr
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) December 19, 2023
First aerial footage captured on the newly opened volcanic fissure near Grindavík, Iceland.
— Erika (@ExploreCosmos_) December 19, 2023
© @visir_is #Iceland pic.twitter.com/9yFS6s3ZYm
iceland looking like mars today pic.twitter.com/HpiSWJa339
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) December 19, 2023
Iceland finally cracked open to unleash torrents of lava. While tourists have flocked to to see past eruptions, officials are warning this new eruption is not “tourist-friendly” and seems to be significantly larger than the Fagradalsfjall in 2021
— Maya Wei-Haas, Ph.D. (@WeiPoints) December 19, 2023
Here’s what to know pic.twitter.com/pAgUXeO4uv
The silver lining in having a "fissure eruption" is that the air won't be clouded with ash and smoke as the eruption is happening across a 2.5-mile-long crack. However, it does make for some gorgeous sights.
A sentiment many people shared online, including @mauraball, who asked, "Is it odd that I think it's beautiful?" Nope, not at all.
According to Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, Iceland’s Minister of Infrastructure, the timetable on how long the eruption has the potential to be disruptive said, “I think it's very difficult to say anything when nature is involved, but as it seems to be drawing up this morning, we seem to have been quite lucky with the location and development [of the eruption], and we hope that will continue.”
@channelnewsasia A volcano in southwest Iceland started erupting on Monday (Dec 18) after weeks of earthquakes. Authorities had evacuated thousands of people weeks ago, in anticipation of the eruption. #news #iceland #volcano #reykjavik
♬ original sound - CNA
Björk now: https://t.co/V0OmbFAZUZ pic.twitter.com/s5xi8ET2dl
— Ⱄ (@bjorkspears) December 19, 2023
From burnt red skies to speculation of Björk’s reaction, we hope no one tried to goon too close to an active volcano.
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