Photos

A series of volcanic fissures situated in southeast Iceland, not far from the canyon of Eldgjá and the small village Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Lakagígar is part of a volcanic system, between the glaciers of Mýrdalsjökull and Vatnajökull, centering on the Grímsvötn volcano and including the Þórðarhyrna volcano.

Over an 8-month period in 1783-1784, fissures opened up on each side of the Laki Mountain, pouring out miles of basalt lava and clouds of poisonous hydrofluoric acid/sulfur-dioxide compounds killing over 50% of Iceland's livestock, resulting in a famine which claimed the lives of approximately 25% of the whole Icelandic population.

The Laki eruption and its aftermath are estimated to have killed over six million people globally, making it the deadliest volcanic eruption in historical times. The drop in temperatures, due to the sulfuric dioxide gases spewed into the northern hemisphere, caused crop failures in Europe, droughts in India, and Japan's worst famine.

More than two hundred years later, the lava remains, as far as you can see, covered by a soft gray-green lichen and other small plants, making it...

a perfect place for a nap.