Long fissure opened up north of the coastal town of Grindavík. The resulting crack in the earth is said to be around three kilometers long.
There was initially no immediate danger to the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal baths. Iceland is the largest and most active volcanic region in Europe. It lies on the so-called Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which separates the Eurasian and North American plates. In 2010, the glacier volcano Eyjafjallajökull massively disrupted air traffic in parts of Europe.