Global Volcanism Program | Heiðarsporðar

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports available for Heiðarsporðar.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Heiðarsporðar.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Heiðarsporðar.

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Cones

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Hraunbunga

Shield volcano

490 m

65° 35' 0" N

16° 49' 0" W

Ludent

Tuff ring

480 m

65° 35' 0" N

16° 49' 0" W

Craters

Feature Name

Feature Type

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Drangagrundir

Fissure vent

460 m

65° 48' 0" N

16° 52' 0" W

Fjarborg

Fissure vent

65° 39' 0" N

16° 52' 0" W

Ludentsborgir

Crater Row

340 m

65° 35' 0" N

16° 50' 0" W

Threngslaborgir

Crater Row

65° 35' 0" N

16° 49' 0" W

Basic Data

Volcano Number

Last Known Eruption

Elevation

Latitude
Longitude

373082

300 BCE

490 m / 1,608 ft

65.583°N
16.817°W

Morphology

Volcano Landform
Cluster

Volcano Types
Fissure vent

Tectonic Setting

Rift zone
Oceanic crust (< 15 km)

Geological Summary

The Heiðarsporðar volcanic system in the Northern Volcanic Zone is about 22 km long, consisting of a fissure swarm and a central volcano. It is embryonic, starting to develop in the marginal area of two adjacent fissure areas, Krafla and Fremrinámar, producing large-volume eruptions. No geothermal activity is present. Magma composition ranges from olivine-tholeiite through tholeiitic basalt and basaltic andesite to dacite. Characteristic activity consists of effusive basaltic eruptions and small predominantly effusive silicic eruptions. It has shown rather low activity in the Holocene but has produced substantial basaltic lava flows. Two eruptive periods have occurred in Holocene time separated by over 8,000 years. The last eruption took place about 2,200 years ago, producing a lava flow covering about 220 km² and extending 60 km from source.

References

The Global Volcanism Program has no references available for Heiðarsporðar.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 7 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

0300 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 2

Episode 1 | Eruption

Threngslaborgir-Ludentsborgir crater row

0300 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (calibrated)

List of 5 Events for Episode 1 at Threngslaborgir-Ludentsborgir crater row

Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
- - - -	- - - -	Explosion
- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow	violent, strong, or large
- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow	Entered water.
- - - -	- - - -	Cinder Cone
0300 BCE (?)	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

4050 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 0

Episode 1 | Eruption

Ludent crater rows

4050 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Correlation: Tephrochronology

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at Ludent crater rows

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow
	4050 BCE (?)	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

5750 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 0

Episode 1 | Eruption

Fjarborg

5750 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Correlation: Tephrochronology

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at Fjarborg

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow
	5750 BCE (?)	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

6150 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 0

Episode 1 | Eruption

Drangagrundahraun

6150 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Correlation: Tephrochronology

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at Drangagrundahraun

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow
	6150 BCE (?)	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

6950 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption VEI: 0

Episode 1 | Eruption

Hraunbunga

6950 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Correlation: Tephrochronology

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at Hraunbunga

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow
	6950 BCE (?)	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

7400 BCE ± 300 years Confirmed Eruption VEI: 0

Episode 1 | Eruption

Heidarspordur

7400 BCE ± 300 years - Unknown

Evidence from Correlation: Tephrochronology

List of 2 Events for Episode 1 at Heidarspordur

	Start Date	End Date	Event Type	Event Remarks
	- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow
	7400 BCE ± 300 years	- - - -	VEI (Explosivity Index)

7850 BCE (?) Confirmed Eruption

Episode 1 | Eruption

Ludent, Namafjall-Krofluhals

7850 BCE (?) - Unknown

Evidence from Correlation: Tephrochronology

List of 3 Events for Episode 1 at Ludent, Namafjall-Krofluhals

Start Date	End Date	Event Type
- - - -	- - - -	Phreatic activity
- - - -	- - - -	Lava flow
- - - -	- - - -	Tephra

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Heiðarsporðar.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Heiðarsporðar.

Photo Gallery

The Hverfjall tuff ring (foreground) developed during phreatomagmatic explosions at the southern end of a 23-km-long fissure. This tuff ring is the largest of the Krafla volcanic system, with a crater about 1 km wide. Lava-dammed Mývatn lake, in the background to the west, provides wildlife habitat and is renowned for its diversity of bird life. The lake has formed on lava flows from nearby Heiðarsporðar volcano, which surround Vindbelgjarfjall, the dome seen on the far side of the lake.

Photo by Michael Ryan, 1984 (U.S. Geological Survey).

The Ludent tuff ring, seen here from the west, formed in a phreatomagmatic eruption in the early Holocene. The Ludentsborgir crater row in the foreground formed during an eruption about 2,200 years ago which produced the massive lava flows that entered Mývatn lake and traveled about 60 km, reaching the northern coast of Iceland.

Photo by Michael Ryan, 1984 (U.S. Geological Survey).

The Laxarhraun lava field in the Heiðarspordar volcanic system covered much of the Lake Mývatn area and lava flowed down the Laxardalur canyon to the north coast. Numerous pseudocraters and rootless cones, some of which are seen here along the shore of the lake, formed as a result of secondary explosive activity when the lava flow encountered abundant groundwater. The massive 224 km² flow, erupted about 2,000 years ago, forms all but the northern shoreline of the lake.

Photo by Michael Ryan, 1984 (U.S. Geological Survey).

Heiðarsporðar (Heidarspordar) is about 22 km in length, with a smaller area shown in this June 2019 Planet Labs satellite image monthly mosaic (N is at the top; this image is approximately 20 km across). Around 2,200 years ago it produced a lava field around 220 km² in size, reaching 60 km away from the source. The darker area in the upper left corner is Mývatn lake.

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs Inc., 2019 (https://www.planet.com/).

GVP Map Holdings

Maps are not currently available due to technical issues.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for Heiðarsporðar in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites

Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes (Link to Heiðarsporðar)

The Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes is an interactive, web-based tool, containing information on volcanic systems that belong to the active volcanic zones of Iceland. It is a collaboration of the Icelandic Meteorological Office (the state volcano observatory), the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland, and the Civil Protection Department of the National Commissioner of the Iceland Police, with contributions from a large number of specialists in Iceland and elsewhere. This official publication is intended to serve as an accurate and up-to-date source of information about active volcanoes in Iceland and their characteristics. The Catalogue forms a part of an integrated volcanic risk assessment project in Iceland GOSVÁ (commenced in 2012), as well as being part of the effort of FUTUREVOLC (2012-2016) on establishing an Icelandic volcano supersite.

Copernicus Browser

The Copernicus Browser replaced the Sentinel Hub Playground browser in 2023, to provide access to Earth observation archives from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, the main distribution platform for data from the EU Copernicus missions.

MIROVA

Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) is a near real time volcanic hot-spot detection system based on the analysis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data. In particular, MIROVA uses the Middle InfraRed Radiation (MIR), measured over target volcanoes, in order to detect, locate and measure the heat radiation sourced from volcanic activity.

MODVOLC Thermal Alerts

Using infrared satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, scientists at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, developed an automated system called MODVOLC to map thermal hot-spots in near real time. For each MODIS image, the algorithm automatically scans each 1 km pixel within it to check for high-temperature hot-spots. When one is found the date, time, location, and intensity are recorded. MODIS looks at every square km of the Earth every 48 hours, once during the day and once during the night, and the presence of two MODIS sensors in space allows at least four hot-spot observations every two days. Each day updated global maps are compiled to display the locations of all hot spots detected in the previous 24 hours. There is a drop-down list with volcano names which allow users to 'zoom-in' and examine the distribution of hot-spots at a variety of spatial scales.

WOVOdat
   Single Volcano View
   Temporal Evolution of Unrest
   Side by Side Volcanoes

WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

GVMID Data on Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure The Global Volcano Monitoring Infrastructure Database GVMID, is aimed at documenting and improving capabilities of volcano monitoring from the ground and space. GVMID should provide a snapshot and baseline view of the techniques and instrumentation that are in place at various volcanoes, which can be use by volcano observatories as reference to setup new monitoring system or improving networks at a specific volcano. These data will allow identification of what monitoring gaps exist, which can be then targeted by remote sensing infrastructure and future instrument deployments.

Volcanic Hazard Maps

The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk has a Volcanic Hazard Maps database designed to serve as a resource for hazard mappers (or other interested parties) to explore how common issues in hazard map development have been addressed at different volcanoes, in different countries, for different hazards, and for different intended audiences. In addition to the comprehensive, searchable Volcanic Hazard Maps Database, this website contains information about diversity of volcanic hazard maps, illustrated using examples from the database. This site is for educational purposes related to volcanic hazard maps. Hazard maps found on this website should not be used for emergency purposes. For the most recent, official hazard map for a particular volcano, please seek out the proper institutional authorities on the matter.

IRIS seismic stations/networks

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Services map showing the location of seismic stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 0.18° (about 20 km at mid-latitudes) from the given location of Heiðarsporðar. Users can customize a variety of filters and options in the left panel. Note that if there are no stations are known the map will default to show the entire world with a "No data matched request" error notice.

UNAVCO GPS/GNSS stations

Geodetic Data Services map from UNAVCO showing the location of GPS/GNSS stations from all available networks (permanent or temporary) within a radius of 20 km from the given location of Heiðarsporðar. Users can customize the data search based on station or network names, location, and time window. Requires Adobe Flash Player.

DECADE Data

The DECADE portal, still in the developmental stage, serves as an example of the proposed interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the Mapping Gas Emissions (MaGa) Database, and the EarthChem Geochemical Portal. The Deep Earth Carbon Degassing (DECADE) initiative seeks to use new and established technologies to determine accurate global fluxes of volcanic CO₂ to the atmosphere, but installing CO₂ monitoring networks on 20 of the world's 150 most actively degassing volcanoes. The group uses related laboratory-based studies (direct gas sampling and analysis, melt inclusions) to provide new data for direct degassing of deep earth carbon to the atmosphere.

EarthChem

EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS).