Öræfajökull, Iceland's highest peak, is viewed here from the west, with the Svinafellsjökull glacier (left) descending from the central icecap nearly to the coastal road. A 4 x 5 km subglacial caldera truncates the summit, which rises to 2119 m about 10 km NW of the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. A major silicic eruption in 1362 was the largest in Iceland during historical time. It and another eruption during 1727-28 were accompanied by major jökulhlaups (glacier outburst floods) that caused property damage and fatalities.

Photo by Oddur Sigurdsson, 1986 (Icelandic National Energy Authority).

Öraefajökull