The incredible images of rivers of lava and red clouds …

For the first time in 800 years, a sector of Iceland was taken by a red-hot lava and magma river a volcanic eruption, located just 40 km from the capital, Reikavik. According to the location’s meteorological office, the crack is 500 meters long and at least a square kilometer of lava has been recorded.

After intense seismic activity for three weeks, a torrent of lava erupted Friday night from a crack in the ground in Geldingadalur, near the mountain Fagradalsfjall, lighting up the night with a red cloud.

Live footage from a RUV public television webcam showed lava slowly sliding down a small valley on the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest of Reykjavik, on Saturday afternoon. “It’s like a bathtub where lava can slowly overflow”, said Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland.

The Krysuvik volcanic system, which does not have a main crater, is located south of Fagradalsfjall Mountain on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland. The eruption site is about 5 km inland.

“The most likely thing is that the eruption will subside, its power will slowly decrease and end in a few days,” said Kristin Jonsdottir, head of the Icelandic Meteorological Institute.

“I think we’re excited because it’s okay, no one is in danger […] it’s mostly good for tourism, so it’s perfect, ”said Sigurdur Kristmundsson, head of the port of Grindavik, the municipality closest to the eruption.

Icelandic Keflavik International Airport and the small fishing port of Grindavik are located a few km from the affected area, but are still active as the eruption is not expected to pose a danger.

The area has been under increased surveillance for weeks due to a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that struck near Mount Keilir, near Reykjavik, on February 24.

This quake was followed by an unusual number of softer tremors – over 50,000, the highest number since digital recordings began in 1991.

Since then, seismic activity has shifted several kilometers to the southwest, concentrating around Fagradalsfjall Mountain, where magma has been detected just one kilometer below the earth’s surface in recent days.

Does the awakening of the volcano mean that the small peninsula is opening a new era?

“This suggests the end of a calm period. And we are entering a period that could last for centuries, with eruptions spaced 10 to 100 years apart,” said Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson.

The Krysuvik volcanic system has been dormant for 900 years, according to the Met Office, and the last eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula dates back almost 800 years, to 1240.

This last episode lasted, intermittently, a period of 30 years, from 1210 to 1240 approximately.

This large island near the Arctic Circle straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a fissure in the ocean floor that separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.

The displacement of these plates is partly responsible for the intense volcanic activity in Iceland.

Iceland has 32 volcanoes currently considered active, the highest number in Europe. The country experiences an eruption every five years on average.

In 2010, an eruption on Eyjafjallajokull volcano released huge clouds of smoke and ash into the atmosphere, disrupting air traffic for more than a week, with the cancellation of more than 100,000 flights worldwide which left some 10 million passengers stranded for days.