Krafla - Krafla - TravBuddy

Krafla is a caldera of about 10 km in diameter with a 90 km long fissure zone, in the north of Iceland in the Mývatn region. Its highest peak reaches up to 818 m.

At the Krafla station you can go for sight seeing and learn a lot about how it works and you can see pictures from the vulcano eruptions, last time was 1984 I think... I saw it in ´84 but I was to young to understand what was happening... my parents have great pics from it. I have to scan them when I have time.

Krafla includes one of the two best known Víti craters of Iceland, the second is part of Askja. The Icelandic word "víti" means "hell". In former times, people often believed Hell to be under volcanoes. The crater Víti has a green lake inside of it.

The Krafla area also includes Námafjall, a geothermal area with boiling mudpools and steaming fumaroles. very hot and very smelly :)

During the years 1724-29, there were the so-called Mývatn fires. A lot of fissure vents opened up and the lava fountains could be seen even in the south of the island. A lava flow destroyed 3 farms near the village Reykjahlíð, but nobody was harmed.

and old story says that once when Krafla erupted all the villager ran to the church, the lava flow headed to the church but instead of burning it down the flow seperated into 2 halfs and circulated the church and there were no damage to the church and all the people were saved :)
You can see the lava surrounding the churce like a fence.