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List of earthquakes in Iceland

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Map
Map of notable earthquakes in Iceland since 1900 numbered from most recent.

Some notable earthquakes in Iceland have been during earthquake swarms with several earthquakes having very similar magnitude and contributing to human injury, death and/or property damage. Accordingly, the largest earthquake may be shown on this page rather than ones that also contributed to the notability. Notable earthquakes in Iceland tend to be close to population centres and therefore do not reflect the full distribution of the high local seismic activity. This distribution includes the transform faults in the South Iceland seismic zone (SISZ) and Tjörnes fracture zone, as well as activity in volcanic rift zones.[1]

Geology

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See also: Geological deformation of Iceland
Outline of Iceland deformation and seismic zones

Iceland lies on the spreading axis of the Mid-Atlantic ridge (MAR) where it is influenced by the Iceland hotspot, a major mantle upwelling. The active spreading axis of the MAR is moving westward with respect to the hotspot. This means that the active rifts above the hotspot have progressively jumped towards the east, causing the development of two major transform zones in the north and south of the island. To the south is the approximately 20 km (12 mi) wide SISZ, which is quite active for earthquakes, and this has a west–east trend. Most earthquakes in this zone are associated with movement on north–south trending right lateral strike-slip faults, although there is also evidence of WSW–ENE trending faults.

According to historical records, there have been 33 damaging earthquakes in the SISZ from the 11th century up to June 2000, with the latest being in 1896 and 1912.[2]

Notable earthquake

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Date Location Mag. MMI Deaths Injuries Comments Ref.
2023-11-10 Southern Peninsula
63°57′07″N 22°20′46″W / 63.952°N 22.346°W / 63.952; -22.346 (Mww 5.3 10 November 2023, depth = 10 km (6.2 mi)) 		5.3 Mww V 1 missing Severe damage to Grindavik with evacuations. Earthquake swarm commenced 24 October 2023 [3][a]
2022-07-31 Southern Peninsula
63°57′18″N 22°21′00″W / 63.955°N 22.350°W / 63.955; -22.350 (Mww 5.4 31 July 2022, depth = 10 km (6.2 mi)) 		5.4 Mww VII Moderate damage [5][6]
2021-02-24 Southern Peninsula
63°56′56″N 22°17′06″W / 63.949°N 22.285°W / 63.949; -22.285 (Mww 5.6 24 February 2021, depth = 10 km (6.2 mi)) 		5.6 Mww VII 1 mild injury Mild damage NGDC[7]
2008-05-29 Hveragerði, Selfoss
63°58′N 20°59′W / 63.96°N 20.99°W / 63.96; -20.99 (Mw 6.3 29 May 2008, depth =10 km (6.2 mi)) 		6.3 Mw VIII 30 Rockslides [8]
2000-06-21 Hesfjall, Southern Peninsula
63°59′N 20°43′W / 63.98°N 20.71°W / 63.98; -20.71 (ML 6.5 21 June 2000, depth = 6.3 km (3.9 mi)) 		6.5 ML X Severe damage [9]
2000-06-17 Hella, Southern Peninsula
63°58′N 20°22′W / 63.97°N 20.37°W / 63.97; -20.37 (ML 6.6 17 June 2000, depth = 5.1 km (3.2 mi)) 		6.6 ML IX 3 Severe damage [10]
1976-01-13 Kópasker
66°09′25″N 16°34′55″W / 66.157°N 16.582°W / 66.157; -16.582 (Ms 6.6 13 January 1976, depth = 33 km (21 mi)) 		6.4 Ms IX Moderate damage NGDC[11]
1968-12-05 Kleifarvatn, Southern Peninsula
63°55′44″N 21°57′14″W / 63.929°N 21.954°W / 63.929; -21.954 (Ms 6.0 5 December 1968, depth = 10 km (6.2 mi)) 		6.0 Ms VIII Moderate damage in Hafnarfjörður [12]
1934-06-02 Dalvíkurbyggð
65°50′49″N 18°50′20″W / 65.847°N 18.839°W / 65.847; -18.839 (Ms 6.2 2 June 1934, depth = 10 km (6.2 mi)) 		6.2 Ms VIII Major damage, 200 people homeless NGDC,[13][14]
1929-07-23 Brennisteinsfjöll, Southern Peninsula
64°03′40″N 21°54′04″W / 64.061°N 21.901°W / 64.061; -21.901 (Ms 6.5 23 July 1929 , depth = 10 km (6.2 mi)) 		6.5 Ms IX Around 100 minor Moderate damage in Reykjavík [15]
1912-05-06 Hekla, Southern Peninsula
64°02′38″N 19°37′59″W / 64.044°N 19.633°W / 64.044; -19.633 (6 May 1912, depth = 15 km (9.3 mi)) 		7.5 XI 11 NGDC[16]
1896-09-05 Southern Peninsula 6.0, 6.5 and 6.0 IX 3 Three major earthquakes with short intervals. (Around 3.000 houses or farms destroyed)
1896-08-27 Skarðsfjall, Southern Peninsula 6.7 X 1 NGDC
1896-08-26 Rangárvallasýrsla ,Southern Peninsula 7.0 X Major damage, many farms destroyed
1872 Húsavík, Norðurþing 6.5 Heavy damage [13]
1784-08-14 Southern (Suðurland) X Severe damage NGDC
1734 Southern lowland 9 Severe damage / Many homes destroyed NGDC
1706-04-20 Selfoss X 999 Severe damage NGDC
1211 Southern (Suðurland) X 18 Severe damage
1182 Southern (Suðurland) X 11 NGDC
1164 Grímsnes X 19 NGDC
1013 Southern (Suðurland) X 11 NGDC
Note: The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described also apply to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded. A compilation exists,[17] for details of Icelandic earthquakes up to 2014 as some have been without significant damage, even if high magnitude events.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The missing man is assumed to have fallen into a fissure that developed during the earthquake swarm[4]

References

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  1. ^ Sigmundsson, Freysteinn; Einarsson, Páll; Hjartardóttir, Ásta Rut; Drouin, Vincent; Jónsdóttir, Kristín; Árnadóttir, Thóra; Geirsson, Halldór; Hreinsdóttir, Sigrún; Li, Siqi; Ófeigsson, Benedikt Gunnar (2020-02-01). "Geodynamics of Iceland and the signatures of plate spreading". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 391: 106436. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2018.08.014. ISSN 0377-0273.
  2. ^ Bergerat, F.; Angelier, J. (2003). "Mechanical behaviour of the Árnes and Hestfjall Faults of the June 2000 earthquakes in Southern Iceland: inferences from surface traces and tectonic model". Journal of Structural Geology. 25 (9): 1507–1523. Bibcode:2003JSG....25.1507B. doi:10.1016/S0191-8141(02)00168-2.
  3. ^ "M 5.3 – 3 km SSE of Vogar, Iceland". United States Geological Survey. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  4. ^ Sigurðsson, Bjarki (13 January 2024). "Ekki hægt að réttlæta áframhaldandi leit" [It is not possible to justify continued searching]. Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  5. ^ "M 5.4 – 1 km SE of Vogar, Iceland". United States Geological Survey. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Series of Earthquakes Detected Over Holiday Weekend Could Signal New Eruption". grapevine.is. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  7. ^ "M 5.6 – 6 km SE of Vogar, Iceland". United States Geological Survey. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  8. ^ ISC-EHB Event 13230288 [IRIS].
  9. ^ "M 6.5 Iceland 2000-06-21". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  10. ^ "M 6.5 Iceland 2000-06-17". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  11. ^ "M 6.4 – 36 km ENE of Norðurþing, Iceland". United States Geological Survey. 13 January 1976. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  12. ^ "M 6.0 – 15 km S of Hafnarfjörður, Iceland". United States Geological Survey. 5 December 1968. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  13. ^ a b Einarsson & Beer 2014, p. 8.
  14. ^ "M 6.2 – 19 km SW of Dalvík, Iceland". United States Geological Survey. 2 June 1934. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  15. ^ "M 6.3 – 1 km ESE of Hafnarfjörður, Iceland". United States Geological Survey. 23 July 1929. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  16. ^ "M 6.8 – 67 km E of Selfoss, Iceland". United States Geological Survey. 6 May 1912. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  17. ^ Einarsson & Beer 2014.
Sources

Further reading

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