Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Iceland Volcano Unleashes Third Lava Stream

Lava is flowing from a third fissure that opened overnight in Iceland's nearly three-week-old volcanic eruption near the capital Reykjavik, officials said Wednesday.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AFP) — Lava is flowing from a third fissure that opened overnight in Iceland's nearly three-week-old volcanic eruption near the capital Reykjavik, officials said Wednesday.

The spectacular eruption began on March 19 when a first fissure disgorged a steady stream of lava, flowing into the Geldingadalir valley of Mount Fagradalsfjall on Iceland's southwestern tip.

The new split comes two days after two fissures opened around 700 yards from the initial eruption, creating a long molten rivulet flowing into a neighboring valley.

The third lava stream, about a yard deep and 490 feet long, is a new draw for tens of thousands of gawkers taking advantage of the site's relatively easy access, just 25 miles from Reykjavik. 

It is about one-third of a mile from the craters of the initial eruption.  

State broadcaster RUV showed a flash of light appearing at the site around midnight, about halfway between the two sites of the earlier eruptions, gushing lava in small spurts and belching smoke.

The new river of bright orange magma flowed down the slope to join an expanding field of lava at the base, now covering more than 81 acres, according to the last press briefing by the Icelandic Meteorological Office late Tuesday.  

The site had been closed to the public Monday because of the new activity, then reopened early Wednesday.

Icelandic experts, who initially thought the eruption would be a short-lived affair, now think it could last several weeks or more. 

© Agence France-Presse

Categories / Environment, International

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...