Hekla                       1 

Location

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Google Earth Image of Iceland, highlighting the location of Mount Hekla.

            Mount Hekla (63.98°N, 19.70°W) is a 1491 meter high stratovolcano located in southern Iceland.  It is one of Iceland’s most prominent and active volcanoes and has been well documented from the Middle Ages until today. 

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Google Earth Image of Mount Hekla from the side, depicting the long, boat like shape of the volcano.

            In an article from late 2007, Ármann Höskuldsson writes, “The recurrence rate of Hekla eruptions was around one to two eruptions per century until the 1970s, when it changed drastically.  Since 1970, the volcano has erupted about every ten years” (p. 169)17.  Hekla lies along the eastern rift zone and produces basaltic andesites, unlike many other volcanoes in Iceland.  Mount Hekla is long and narrow, shaped almost like a flipped over boat and has a 5.5 km long fissure called Heklugjá.18

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            The most recent eruption took place in February 2000, but eruptions have been observed as far back as 1104.  However, Geologists have been able to find evidence for eruptions dating back to around 6000 BC from the deposits that cover the flank of the volcano. 

 

 

 

 

Questions about this site? Contact me @ mcrackel@mail.colgate.edu