Hekla af Bjólfelli

Mt. Hekla seen from the southwest from the nearby Mt. Bjólfell. Hekla is Iceland's third most active volcanic centre, with about 23 known eruptions in the last 1000 years. Some of those eruptions have been truly devastating. The first one after settlement, in 1104 - after a 300 year hiatus - laid waste to a thriving settlement in its vicinity. Hekla has been quite active in recent decades, erupting 4 times in the last 50 years. Those eruptions have thankfully been small, the general rule being that long intervals lead to bigger eruptions. Geologists believe Hekla is ready to erupt soon. Some Icelandic volcanoes give ample warning before they erupt, but Hekla usually gives only a 30 minute warning or so, with shallow tremors before magma breaches the surface.