Laki or Lakagígar (The Craters of Laki) is a volcanic fissure in the south of Iceland. It is located close to the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur.
F-Roads and River Crossings
The Highlands can only be driven during the Icelandic summer. For the rest of the year the highland roads are closed. On EpicIceland.net you can find great tips about F-Roads in how to cross rivers while driving in the highlands.
Nearby places: Tjarnargígur, Langisjór, Eldgjá
Lakagígar volcanic eruption
The fissure is properly referred to as Lakagígar, while Laki is a mountain that the fissure bisects. Lakagígar is part of a volcanic system centered on the volcano Grímsvötn and including the volcano Thordarhyrna. It lies between the glaciers of Mýrdalsjökull and Vatnajökull, in an area of fissures that run in a southwest to northeast direction.
The system erupted violently over an eight-month period between June 1783 and February 1784 from the Laki fissure and the adjoining volcano Grímsvötn. 42 billion tons or 14 km3 (3.4 cubic miles) of basalt lava and clouds of poisonous hydrofluoric acid and sulfur dioxide compounds poured out of the system which contaminated the soil. This lead to the death of over 50% of Iceland’s livestock population, and the destruction of the vast majority of all crops.
This led to a famine which then killed approximately 25% of the island’s human population. The lava flows also destroyed 20 villages. The Laki eruption and its aftermath caused a drop in global temperatures since 120 million tons of sulfur dioxide was spewed into the Northern Hemisphere. This caused crop failures in Europe and may have caused droughts in North Africa and India.