West Volcanic Zone of Iceland

thumb|Strokkur at rest Strokkur (Icelandic , "churn") is a fountain-type geyser located in a geothermal area beside the Hvítá River in Iceland in the southwest part of the country, east of Reykjavík. It typically erupts every 6–10 minutes. Its usual height is , although it can sometimes erupt up to high.

Geysir (), sometimes known as The Great Geysir, is a geyser in south-western Iceland, that geological studies suggest started forming about 1150 CE. The English word geyser (a periodically spouting hot spring) derives from Geysir. The name Geysir itself is derived from the Icelandic verb geysa ("to go quickly forward"). Geysir lies in the Haukadalur valley on the slopes of Laugarfjall lava dome, which is also the home to Strokkur geyser about to the south. The Strokkur geyser may be confused with it, and the geothermal field it is in is known usually as either Geysir or Haukadalur.

Langjökull (, Icelandic for "long glacier") is the second largest ice cap in Iceland (), after Vatnajökull. It is situated in the west of the Icelandic interior or Highlands of Iceland and can be seen clearly from Haukadalur. It covers the higher parts of the Langjökull volcanic system.

Hengill () is a volcanic table mountain situated in the south-west of Iceland, to the south of Þingvellir.

Eiríksjökull (Icelandic for "Eirík's glacier", ) is a glacier north-west of Langjökull in Iceland, with an area of reaching a height of , atop the largest table mountain in Iceland which goes by the same name.

valley in Bláskógabyggð, Iceland

thumb|Hraunfossar in snow and ice

right|thumb|One of four entrances to the Surtshellir lava tube in the Hallmundarhraun lava field. right|thumb|Looking up towards the fourth (lowest and farthest west) entrance to Surtshellir, seen from within the section of the cave called Íshellir (ice-cave). The white slab is ice, which was preserved into summertime. thumb|Typical passage shapes in the Surtshellir-Stefanshellir lava tube system, showing intact walls and pahoehoe floors Surtshellir () is a lava cave located in western Iceland, around 60 km from the settlement of Borgarnes. Approximately a mile in length, it is one of the

Skjaldbreiður (, "broad shield") is an Icelandic lava shield formed in a huge and quite protracted eruption series from about roughly 9,500 years ago. The extensive lava fields which were produced by this eruption, flowed southwards, and formed the basin of Þingvallavatn, Iceland's largest lake, and Þingvellir, the "Parliament Plains" where the Icelandic national assembly, the Alþing was founded in 930.

shield volcano in Iceland

right|upright=1.25|thumb|Þórisjökull Þórisjökull or Thórisjökull (, Icelandic for "Thóris's glacier") is a small glacier and volcano in western-central Iceland, to the southwest of Langjökull glacier. It has an elevation of . Kaldidalur lies in the foreground.

thumb|Ingólfsfjall thumb|The top of Ingólfsfjall with a small lava hill from subaerial eruptions thumb|Landslides at Ingólfsfjall during the 6.3 quake in 2008 thumb|The quarry at Ingólfsfjall thumb|Silfurberg

Barnafoss (), also known as Bjarnafoss , is a waterfall in Western Iceland on the river Hvítá in Borgarfjörður, about from Reykjavík. Located directly upstream from Hraunfossar, the two waterfalls flow out of the Hallmundarhraun lava field.

The peak Prestahnúkur () with a height of , is in the Western Volcanic Zone to the west of the Highlands of Iceland to the west of Langjökull glacier, or to be more specific, to the west of Geitlandsjökull glacier, a part of the Langjökull. The volcano Prestahnúkur includes the terrain under the Geitlandsjökull glacier continuous to the peak and also includes fissure fields to its north and south.

thumb|Hveravellir geothermal field, in the Kjölur plateau Hveravellir () is a geothermal field (high temperature field) of the Oddnýjarhnjúkur-Langjökull volcanic system - in the north of the Langjökull glacier. ==Description==

Hrómundartindur () is a mountain in Iceland north of Hveragerði with an elevation of . It to the east of Hengill and is the central volcano of an adjacent long Hrómundartindur volcanic system, which contains the Ölkeduháls geothermal field. Like Hengill this area is close to the south-eastern triple junction of the Hreppar microplate, is seismically active, and associated with the Western volcanic zone and the South Iceland seismic zone. To the north-east are multiple tindars, and there is a Holocene lava flow called Tjarnahnúkshraun which covers with a volume of . The lava ranges from picrite

thumb|Aerial photograph of Hlöðufell Hlöðufell () is a tuya volcano, located about 10 km southwest of Langjökull, Iceland. Hlöðufell is 1188 metres above sea level, and was formed when lava erupted through Langjökull (which was larger during the last ice age) during the Pleistocene. The tuya also has the characteristics of a composite volcano.

Geitlandsjökull () is a lateral glacier of Langjökull, with a flowshed of from the second largest ice cap in Iceland at , in the west of Iceland. It has also been used as the name for the substantial Langjökull ice cap, as has the name Suðurjöklar. The highest point of Geitlandsjökull, which lies on top of a tuya, reaches a height of .

thumb|right|Víðgelmir in Iceland - Expeditioners are walking on top of a "pipe" formed when half molten lava "skin" rolled down the walls when the eruption receded. thumb|right|Víðgelmir has many ice-formations deep within the cave. Víðgelmir () is a lava tube situated in the Hallmundarhraun lava field (formed around 900 AD) in west Iceland, around 2 km southeast of Fljótstunga farm in Hvítársíða, Borgarfjörður. The roof of the lava tube has collapsed, creating two large openings near its north end which are the only known entrances. Víðgelmir is 1585 m long and the largest part of t

thumb|Location of the Kjölur highland area thumb|Kjölur plateau and the Kjalvegur F35 road, between Gullfoss and Hveravellir Kjölur () is a plateau in the highlands of Iceland, roughly defined as the area between the Langjökull and Hofsjökull glaciers. It lies at an elevation of about 600–700 metres.

thumb|Stóra-Björnsfell to the right of Þórisjökull Stóra-Björnsfell () is an elongated medium-sized tuya located in Iceland. It contains pillow lava, hyaloclastite and sheet lava. The volcano formed when a subglacial eruption occurred beneath an ice sheet during the last ice age. Stóra-Björnsfell's pillow lava appears originally to have erupted from a fissure.