Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland

 The icecap of the glacier covers a volcano (1,666 m in height) which has erupted relatively frequently since the Ice Age. The latest eruption began in March 2010, and the most recent eruption before then was from 1821 to 1823, causing a fatal[citation needed] glacier run. A previous eruption was in 1612. The crater of the volcano has a diameter of 3–4 km and the glacier covers an area of about 100 km².

The ice-cap of the glacier covers an active volcano (1666m in height) which has erupted rather frequently since the ice-age. The last eruption was in 1821-23, causing a fatal glacier run. The crater of the volcano has a diameter of 3-4 km, the glacier covering an extension of about 100 km².

Svereal steep glacier tongues protrude from the mountain. Two of them Gigjokull and Steinholtsjokull drop into two small proglacial lakes filled with floating calved Icebergs. The lake in front of Gigjokull is called Jokullon. The lake in front of Steinholtsjokull is smaller. River Steinholtsá flows out it into Krossá. These lakes are formed by encircling walls built up by tons of terminal moraine.

In 1967 there was an enormous landslide onto Steinholtsjokull. On january 15 th 1967 at 13.47.55 there was an explosion in the cliff Innstihaus. It can be timed because the earthquake meters in Kirkjubæjarklaustur picked up the turbulance. When the landslide of about 15 million cubic meters hit the glacier a huge wave of air, ice, water and huge cliffs started to run from under the clacier and into the lagoon at the foot of the glacier. The wave got as high as 75 m from the floor of the valley. The cliffs stopped soon afterward but water and ice touched the floor of the old brigde over Markarfljót one and a half hour later.

Under the hills of Eyjafjallajokull stands the mountainridge Eyjafjoll but they were once part of the Atlantic coastline. The sea now being in a distance of about 5 km from there, the former coastline left behind sheer cliffs with a multitude of beautiful waterfalls, the best known of them being Skógafoss. In case of stark winds, the water of minor falls is even sometimes blown up the mountain.

Over the past 1,100 years, Eyjafjallajökull has erupted four times: in 920, 1612, between 1821–1823, and in 2010. Each of the first three of these incidents directly preceded a major eruption in the nearby subglacial volcano, Katla There is so far no evidence that Katla will erupt because of its vicinity to the current eruption in Fimmvörðuháls mountain pass. Katla, which is a much more active volcano, known for its powerful subglacial eruptions and its large magma chamber, much larger than that of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano system, has still not shown any unusual activity, like expansion of the crust or seismic activity. However, one can not rule out that possibility, since history has shown that Eyjafjallajökull can be a precursor to additional Katla activity. Some geophysicists in Iceland support the notion that the recent volcanic eruption at Eyjafjallajökull may trigger a second eruption at Katla, which would cause a major flooding event due to melting of glacial ice.

Two volcanic eruptions in one month is an unusual occurrence at the Eyjafjallajokull glacier. The last time a volcano erupted underneath the glacier was in 1821. Eyjafjallajokull glacier covers an area of up to 100 square kilometers, covering a volcano that reaches 1,700 meters in height.

Scientists are concerned about the neighbouring Katla volcano, which erupts in tandem with Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Katla sits underneath Myrdalsjokull ice cap and the eruption could cause widespread flooding.

Concerns over volcano ash reducing visibility are affecting air traffic over Norway. It is predicted that air traffic will be affected in the skies over Sweden and Russia as well. Iceland's International Airport in Keflavik remains open.

According to CNN Website
Ash from a volcano eruption in Iceland has prompted aviation officials to restrict flights over parts of Norway and the United Kingdom.

Norway's aviation authority AVINOR closed roughly the northern half of the country's airspace on Wednesday evening, from Trondheim to the north. And U.K. air traffic control provider NATS said early Thursday it was restricting flights in northern Scotland.

NATS warned the ash cloud is expected to move south, hinting that the flight-restriction zone could expand.

Some Norwegian flights were canceled or delayed because of the airspace closure, according to information from AVINOR's Web site.

Iceland's Meteorological Service says no lava is seen yet but melt-water flows both north and south of the mountain.

There are no reports of deaths, injuries or property damage at the time of publishing.