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Volcano
Grímsvötn
Caldera · 1,719 m · Iceland
Grímsvötn sits on the Eurasian Plate, in a rift zone. 85 eruptions are known since the end of the last ice age, the most recent in 2011. Its major eruptions caused at least 9,356 deaths.
Grímsvötn, beneath the Vatnajökull glacier, is Iceland's most frequently erupting volcano. Its eruptions under the ice cause glacial outburst floods, sudden surges of meltwater.
Its system includes the Laki fissures, whose 1783-1784 eruption poisoned livestock and crops and caused a famine that killed about a fifth of Iceland's population. In 2011 its ash led to hundreds of flight cancellations in northern Europe.
- Elevation
- 1,719 m
- Type
- Caldera
- Tectonic Setting
- Rift zone, oceanic crust
- Dominant Rock
- Basalt / Picro-Basalt
- Plate
- Eurasian Plate
- Country
- Iceland
- Last Eruption
- 2011
- Known Eruptions (Holocene)
- 85
- Max. Explosivity (VEI)
- 6
- Known Fatalities
- 9,356
Notable Eruptions
Eruptions that caused deaths or damage, or with an explosivity index of 4 and above (NOAA).
- 18601860 Eruption1 death
- 17841784 Eruption · VEI 49,350 deaths
- 16841684 Eruption · VEI 21 death
- 16291629 Eruption · VEI 24 deaths
Eruption Timeline
Each bar is an eruption; its height shows its explosivity (VEI 0 to 8).
Eruption Deadly Eruption (NOAA) Uncertain Date
Sources : Global Volcanism Program, 2026. Volcanoes of the World (v. 5.4.0; 7 Aug 2026), Smithsonian Institution, doi:10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW5-2026.5.4 (volcano.si.edu) · NOAA NCEI · USGS · Wikidata