Sundhnukar

18 December 2023: Following a period of near constant earthquake activity near the town of Grindavík in November 2023, and observations that magma was inflating the ground, residents of the Reykjanes Peninsula were on high alert and anxiety for an eruption to begin. That eruption came just when things seemed like they might be calming down, on 18 December 2023. A 4 km-long fissure opened along the Sundhnúkar crater row in the Svartsengi volcanic system - far larger than any of the earlier Fagradalsfjall eruptions. If the eruption had continued at this size and volume for a long time, the Svartsengi geothermal power plant, the town of Grindavík, and the famous Blue Lagoon tourist attraction could have all been lost. Luckily for all of these, the eruption lasted less than three days.