- The eruption began on the night of December 18 at around 10:20 p.m. local time
This is the stunning moment a volcano in Iceland spews streams of lava as the island reels from the massive eruption that began on Monday evening.
The stunning footage shows the bright orange lava bursting through the Earth's surface in fountains of fiery, molten rock in the dramatic eruption that has been expected for several weeks.
The searing liquid ripples across the surface, creating fiery fissures as the lava flows through veiny-looking fissures in the ground.
Plumes of smoke can be seen coming from the epicenter of the eruption, illustrating the intense heat emanating from the volcano.
The dramatic scene was filmed by a drone as bubbling streams of lava glowed against the darkness of the night sky.
The searing liquid ripples across the surface, creating fiery fissures as the lava flows through veiny-looking fissures in the ground
Scientists had been expecting a volcano in southwest Iceland to erupt for weeks, so it was no surprise when it happened on Monday evening.
The region has been active for more than two years and thousands of small earthquakes have rocked the area in recent weeks.
It began around 10:20 p.m. local time on the night of December 18 north of Grindavik, a fishing village with 3,400 residents on the Reykjanes peninsula.
The city is located about 50 kilometers southwest of the Icelandic capital Reykjavik in an area commonly known as the Fagradalsfjall volcano.
First there were a series of smaller earthquakes. Then lava at a temperature of about 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,192 degrees Fahrenheit) began pouring from a fissure about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) long.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office estimated that hundreds of cubic meters of lava flowed per second in the first two hours of the eruption, although activity had subsided significantly by the afternoon of December 19.
The stunning footage shows the bright orange lava erupting through the Earth's surface in fountains of fiery molten rock
The dramatic scene was filmed by a drone as bubbling streams of lava glowed against the darkness of the night sky
Scientists said their monitors showed that a corridor of magma, or half-molten rock, was spreading toward the city and could soon reach the surface.
The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal resort, one of Iceland's best-known tourist attractions, was forced to temporarily close as a precaution after a magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck the area last month.
Fagradalsfjall had been dormant for about 6,000 years but came to life in March 2021 when hundreds of people flocked to the Reykjanes Peninsula to see spectacular lava flows that lasted for months. The red glow of the lava could be seen from the edge of the capital.
None of the recent eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula caused damage or disruption to air traffic, despite the area's proximity to the country's main Keflavik Airport.