The Blue Lagoon, a famous tourist spot in southwest Iceland, was temporarily closed on Thursday due to a buildup of magma in the ground nearby, raising fears of a possible eruption.
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The site, known for its turquoise water pools and luxury hotels, has “taken the proactive decision to temporarily suspend its activities for a week,” although the alert level has not been raised by authorities “during this seismic time,” its website said.
This closure will be in effect until November 16th at 07:00 GMT.
A series of small earthquakes has shaken the Reykjanes peninsula, where the “Blue Lagoon” is located, in recent weeks.
In total, more than 23,000 tremors have been recorded since October 25, including more than 400 in the last 24 hours, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Institute (IMO).
According to the Icelandic newspaper Vikurfrettir, a few hours before the official announcement of the site’s closure, around 40 “frightened” visitors packed their belongings and hurriedly left the site.
On October 27, the IMO detected ground swelling caused by an accumulation of magma at a depth of 5 kilometers.
The phenomenon is continuing at a similar pace, with no upward movement of magma that is likely to lead to an eruption currently detected, the weather agency said on its website.
Over the weekend, the IMO clarified that there are “currently no clear signs of magma approaching the surface,” but that the situation could change quickly.
These phenomena are widespread in this volcanic region, geologists recalled: the peninsula lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, one of the most important on the planet, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are moving away from each other.
This is the fifth ground swelling observed in the region since the reawakening of seismic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula in December 2019, after around 800 years of dormancy.