A steam plume rises above a line of small lava fountains on 5 September 1984, the day after the onset of an eruption from an 8.5-km-long fissure extending north from Leirhnjúkur. During the first hours of the eruption, the fissure was active along its entire length, producing a sheet of pahoehoe lava, but later activity was concentrated at a single vent near the northern end of the fissure. This fissure eruption was the last of a decade-long series of Krafla eruptions beginning in 1975 that accompanied an episode of crustal spreading.

Photo by Michael Ryan, 1984 (U.S. Geological Survey).

This image is made available as a Public Domain Work, but proper attribution is appreciated.

Galleries: Volcanic Gases | Fissure Vents

Keywords: eruption | lava fountain | gas | gas plume | emissions | lava | fissure | plume

Krafla