Top 10 Volcanoes in Iceland
Iceland is the place where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge surfaces. Two tectonic plates pull apart through the middle of the country, and the result is a volcanic system that erupts somewhere, on average, every three to five years. These ten are the names that anchor the map.
1. Hekla
For centuries Hekla was known across Europe as the "gateway to hell." It is still one of Iceland's most active volcanoes, with relatively short warning times — climbed in calm periods, watched closely the rest.
2. Katla
Hidden beneath the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap, Katla is overdue by historical standards and capable of catastrophic glacial floods (jökulhlaups). Its sub-glacial heat sustains the Katla Geopark and the famous ice caves.
3. Eyjafjallajökull
The 2010 eruption that grounded Europe's aviation made this unpronounceable name globally famous. The summit ice cap is visible across the south coast, and an interpretive centre at Þorvaldseyri tells the story.
4. Bárðarbunga
A vast subglacial system under Vatnajökull. The 2014–15 Holuhraun fissure eruption was one of the largest lava-producing events in Iceland for centuries — the cooled flow field is now a hauntingly empty highland plateau.
5. Fagradalsfjall (Reykjanes peninsula)
The 2021–23 series of fissure eruptions transformed the Reykjanes peninsula from a sleeping system into a regularly-monitored active one. Several eruptions have since opened the Sundhnúkur crater row near Grindavík.
6. Grímsvötn
Iceland's most frequently erupting volcano, hidden beneath Vatnajökull. It is the engine behind the dramatic jökulhlaup floods that have repeatedly remade the Skeiðarársandur outwash plain.
7. Askja
A high caldera in the central highlands, with the cobalt-blue Öskjuvatn crater lake and the warm milky Víti crater nearby. Reachable by tour from Mývatn in summer.
8. Krafla
A long fissure system near Mývatn whose 1975–84 "Krafla Fires" gave volcanologists nearly a decade of close observation. The area now hosts a geothermal power plant and a striking lava field at Leirhnjúkur.
9. Hveragerði / Hengill
The volcanic system above Reykjavík supplying the capital with hot water and electricity. Trails climb through steaming valleys to bathing pools in warm streams — volcanism turned into infrastructure.
10. Öræfajökull
Iceland's tallest volcano (and tallest peak), under the southern lobe of Vatnajökull. Its 1362 eruption was the largest tephra event of the country's historical record; today it is climbed as a mountaineering objective.
How to plan an Iceland volcano trip
Most travellers see Iceland's volcanism through landscape rather than eruption: lava fields along the Ring Road, geothermal valleys, ice caps sitting on hot rock. Eruptions, when they happen, draw huge crowds — but access is controlled by the police, the Met Office, and Civil Protection, and can be closed in hours.
Safety and monitoring
The Icelandic Met Office (vedur.is) maintains real-time volcano updates and hazard maps. Always consult them before approaching any active site, dress for sub-zero wind even in summer, and never enter closed areas — gas concentrations and lava-tube collapses kill experienced people too.
See them on the map
Open the map and filter to Iceland to see how the country's volcanoes line up along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The clusters in the south and on the Reykjanes peninsula are the ones you are most likely to actually visit.