• Question: Is Katla the most powerful volcano in Iceland?

    Asked by megansaurus to James V on 27 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: James Verdon

      James Verdon answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      Hi megan,
      I’m not certain. But Katla is larger than Eyjafjallajökull, which erupted 2 years ago. The most deadly eruption in Iceland’s history was Skafta. It wasn’t the power of the eruption that was the problem, it was the deadly gasses that it emitted. The volcano poured out sulphuric gasses that killed over 50% of the livestock. Gas poisoning and the famine resulting from the deaths of all the animals meant that 25% of Iceland’s population were killed.

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