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The famous Blue Lagoon outside Iceland’s capital is closed due to fears of a volcanic eruption. The closure will initially last for a week, the popular tourist destination announced.
For several weeks, seismic activity has shaken Reykjanes, the Icelandic peninsula where both Reykjavik and the Blue Lagoon are located. There have been no injuries to speak of, but concerns have been raised that a major volcanic eruption may be underway.
Icelandic media reports on terrified tourists, and that, among other things, guests at the Blue Lagoon hotel must have left in a panic in the middle of the night.
The lagoon’s management writes that they made “a proactive decision” to close for a week, even though the authorities did not raise the warning level. The company’s website admits that “guests’ experience has been disrupted by seismic activity”, and that “our employees have suffered sustained stress”.
Iceland, and Reykjanes in particular, lies directly over the “Mid-Atlantic Ridge”, where the Eurasian and North American continental plates meet.
This means that volcanic eruptions are very common. But most of the time they are so discreet, or happen so remotely, that they do not pose any major acute danger.
Reykjanes in particular has suffered three volcanic eruptions in as many years: in March 2021, August 2022 and July this year.