The popular travel destination Blue Lagoon in Iceland has been closed and evacuated Thursday after another volcanic eruption sent lava flowing over the facility’s parking lot and destroyed at least one service building, according to reports.
“Last night at about 10:30 p.m., we had earthquake activity commencing again close to the eruption site from previous eruptions,” an expert told Reuters. “So, the same fissure that has been active throughout (2024).”
She said pressure began to increase in boreholes, which meant a dike intrusion was underway and an eruption was likely imminent.
“The eruption started at 11:15 p.m.,” she continued. “So, it was a very rapid progression of events. We knew that the pressure in the magma chamber feeding these eruptions was about at the level where we could expect an eruption.”
Cameras positioned around the Sundhnúkur volcano captured stunning images of the eruption lighting up the night sky shortly before midnight local time Wednesday.
lue Lagoon Iceland is set amid endless moss-covered lava fields on the Reykjanes Peninsula, in the southwest corner of Iceland. The peninsula is also home to Iceland’s major airport (called Keflavík International Airport), and the towns of Keflavík (also known as Reykjanesbær) and Grindavík.
The entire parking lot of the Blue Lagoon is now under lava, except for a few street lamps that stand at the end of what used to be a parking lot.
The average temperature of the water is a warm and inviting 37-39°C (98-102°F), perfect for bathing in Iceland’s cool climate. The water in the Blue Lagoon is unique due to its rich content of silica, algae, and minerals, giving the lagoon its famous milky blue appearance.
Then the lava seems to have spread a little and, among other things, just now passed over a sign directing visitors to the car park.
The lava continues to flow along the defense wall west of the Blue Lagoon.
This is the main parking lot of the Blue Lagoon and there are parking spaces for around 350 cars as well as bus parking.
Helga Árnadóttir, manager of sales, operations and services at the Blue Lagoon, told mbl.is earlier today that access to the Blue Lagoon needs to be assessed when the time comes to see whether there are possibilities to use other access routes for vehicles.
“It is impossible to tell the damage at this point, but we will see this better as time goes on and how we can respond.” There are some parking options at the reservoir, but we need to take a closer look at it in the future,” Árnadóttir said.
You can follow the progress of the lava on a webcam from Mt Þorbjörn below.
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