Talk:Fagradalsfjall

Article title?

I'm not sure that this is the right article title for an article about the current eruption. The eruption is near Fagradalsfjall mountain, and Icelandic Wikipedia therefore has an article is:Eldgosið við Fagradalsfjall 2021 about the eruption (translated "Eruption at Fagradalsfjall 2021"). The eruption itself, however, is in a valley called Geldingadalur (singular) or Geldingadalir (plural); it's not Fagradalsfjall itself which is erupting. IMHO there should be two articles; Fagradalsfjall should be about the (still-existing, and currently not erupting) mountain (as in Icelandic Wikipedia: is:Fagradalsfjall (Reykjanesskagi)) and there should be something like "Eruption near Fagradalsfjall" or, as I titled the article in German Wikipedia, "Eruption in the Krýsuvík volcanic system". Gestumblindi (talk) 16:07, 20 March 2021 (UTC)

Makes sense to me. Awien (talk) 12:01, 21 March 2021 (UTC)

Well, if there's no opposition to my proposal, I'm going to do this later this day: Split off a new article about the eruption, leaving this one as an article about the mountain. A ping to Dore the Axe-plorer as the original author of this article. Gestumblindi (talk) 14:23, 21 March 2021 (UTC)

@Gestumblindi: Thanks for the correction, I didn't know about Geldingadalir! While I WOULD NOT totally oppose the idea of a new article about the eruption, it appears a section for the eruption in this article seems better since it's still a stub. I'm not sure if the new eruption article would have any useful content or if it'll just be another stub bcuz from what I know the eruption is considered "small" (I haven't caught up with Iceland bcuz of the Japan earthquake). Could Geldingadalir and its eruption be a redirect?--Dora the Axe-plorer (talk) 14:58, 21 March 2021 (UTC)

@Dora the Axe-plorer: Thanks for the quick reply! I think there is already enough content for two (small, but acceptable) articles here. Basically, the section 2020-21 activity would become the base of an article we could call something like 2021 eruption in the Krýsuvík volcanic system, Geldingadalir eruption (simple and without year, as there's no need to differentiate from another eruption at this time) or Eruption by Fagradalsfjall 2021 - what do you think? Would you prefer one of these titles? In Iceland, it's also snappily cald "Geldingadalsgos", as mentioned in the introduction of the Icelandic article. Oh, I see now that Geldingadalir eruption is already a redirect created by Þjarkur today. So I think that would probably be the best title for the eruption article. Even if the articles are small, I think it would make sense to make this distinction. Yes, the eruption is considered small (civil protection called it "little and beautiful") and rather harmless, so, if there are no major changes, there will not be a huge amount to write about it. But for systematic reasons, I feel somehow uneasy seeing Fagradalsfjall and the Geldingadalir eruption mixed up. Nice drone footage from the eruption, btw :-) Gestumblindi (talk) 15:11, 21 March 2021 (UTC)

@Gestumblindi: Yes I think it's better not to have Fagradalsfjall and Geldingadalir mixed up. If the eruption involved Geldingadalir then the title doesn't need Fagradalsfjall to avoid confusion. Geldingadalir eruption could be redirected to the new Geldingadalir article with a section dedicated to it. I'll change the "2020-21 activity" to "Activity at Geldingadalir" bcuz Fagradalsfjall apparently isn't erupting. --Dora the Axe-plorer (talk) 00:36, 22 March 2021 (UTC)

Even if the eruption is not up on the mountain of Fagradalsfjall, it is attributed to it. There are strong connections eg. between repeated earthquake series centered on this mountain over the last years and the ongoing eruption. So that it is correct to attribute the eruption to the old volcano.Hornstrandir1 (talk) 15:34, 22 March 2021 (UTC)

It would be even more appropriate as the IMO (the Icelandic Met Office), which is also strongly involved in volcano monitoring, on their Icelandic website, is talking about the "Eldgos í Fagradalsfjalli" (the "eruption in Fagradalsfjall", see: https://vedur.is/ Retrieved 22 March 21). The roots of such volcanoes are reaching much farther than the actual volcano itself, so that the neighbouring valleys are counted as well. Also comes the magma from an about 6 km long dike between Fagradalsfjall and Keilir and some Icelandic geology papers proposed that Fagradalsfjall would not be a part of the Krýsuvík system, but have a system (fissures, intrusions) of its own.Hornstrandir1 (talk) 15:57, 22 March 2021 (UTC)

Well, we can also leave it as it is for now, "2020–21 activity at Geldingadalir" is at least a sufficiently differentiating heading. The terminology and attribution of the eruption seems to be still fluctuating. On the same IMO/Veðurstofa website you mention, one can on the one hand see "Eldgos í Fagradalsfjalli", as you say, but also "Nýjustu fréttir af eldgosinu við Fagradalsfjall" which is "Most recent news on the eruption at/by Fagradalsfjall" (not in Fagradalsfjall). Maybe we should just wait until the volcanologists have established a definitive terminology. Likewise, although you say that it's possibly not in the Krýsuvík system at all, I think I would leave de:Ausbruch im Krýsuvík-Vulkansystem in German-language Wikipedia for now, until it's clear whether this is a system of its own or not. Gestumblindi (talk) 18:14, 22 March 2021 (UTC)

Re. Fagradalsfjall as independent volcanic system; See eg.: Geirsson, H., Parks, M., Vogfjörd, K., Einarsson, P., Sigmundsson, F., Jónsdóttir, K., Drouin, V., Ófeigsson, B. G., Hreinsdóttir, S., and Ducrocq, C.: The 2020 volcano-tectonic unrest at Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland: stress triggering and reactivation of several volcanic systems, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-7534, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-7534, 2021. https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU21/EGU21-7534.html Hornstrandir1 (talk) 18:49, 22 March 2021 (UTC)

Is this being actioned at all? Sophie means wisdom (talk) 08:26, 27 March 2021 (UTC)

Eruptive vent - Name of the eruption

The eruptive vent can't have the name "...gos", as "gos" in Icelandic means "eruption" (and also "limonade" by the way - source of many Icelandic jokes). The Icelandic word "Geldingadalsgos", just means "the eruption in / of the valleys Geldingadalir".Hornstrandir1 (talk) 15:34, 22 March 2021 (UTC)

"Vent" in Icelandic would be "gosop" (see eg. Ari Trausti Guðmundsson, etal.: Íslenskur jarðfræðilykill. (2004) p.61).Hornstrandir1 (talk) 15:41, 22 March 2021 (UTC)

choice of coordinates

@Ontist: where exactly do you have the coordinates from? The current coordinates point to the area of the eruptions, which is in a valley (Geldingadal) and not on a summit. If the summit is really at 385 m a.s.l., it must be somewhere around (or identical with?) Langhóll, which is further north (391 m a.s.l., according to open street map). Note that Langhóll is not mentioned anywhere on is.wikipedia.org at all, which puzzles me. --Kuhni74 (talk) 13:58, 23 March 2021 (UTC)

It appears to me as if Fagradalsfjall is the name of the whole massif and Langhóll (385m / 391m in OSM) is its highest summit: basemap (grunnkort) → atlas --Kuhni74 (talk) 19:25, 23 March 2021 (UTC)

A user on is.wikipedia.org confirmed that Langhóll is indeed the highest summit of the massif Fagradalsfjall. --Kuhni74 (talk) 08:37, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

exact place of photograph in infobox

Does anybody have a clue, which road and which mountains are displayed on File:The Road to Grindavik (3022612701).jpg? The photograph was taken at 7 a.m., so it must be from the north to the south as the sun is at the left. If have not found any suitable road sections so far that lead to Grindavík or come from Grindavík. --Kuhni74 (talk) 12:02, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

@Kuhni74: I can't add much information, but the time and/or the date must be wrong. On an 11 November, the sun doesn't rise that early in this area (should be up at about 9.45 a.m.) Probably the camera wasn't set correctly to local time. Another lead for investigation might be that it's an unpaved road. Which roads near Grindavík were unpaved in 2008? It seems that currently, they are all paved, except one small, unnumbered gravel road (here highlighted on OpenStreetMap) connecting roads 425 and 426, passing small mountains/hill such as Sandfell, Lágafell and Rauðhóll. Gestumblindi (talk) 22:55, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

That's a very good point that I had missed, thank you! There are quite a number of further unpaved roads between Kleifarvatn and Fagradalsfjall, too, but I could not find any view that would fit so far. The area west of Grindavík is far too flat. Liebe Grüße aus Wien! --Kuhni74 (talk) 08:58, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

Yes, I didn't look as far as Kleifarvatn on the map, as it's called the "road to Grindavík". Near Kleifarvatn, road no. 428 (Vigdísarvallavegur) could be an option... Gruss aus Solothurn! :-) Gestumblindi (talk) 10:49, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

For now, I changed the description at Commons to what we currently know, and reduced the date to "2008" as both the time and the month may be wrong. Gestumblindi (talk) 18:21, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

@Dora the Axe-plorer: As it was you who added that image to the article, maybe you know more? Are you sure that it's Fagradalsfjall at all in the image, and maybe you know where this road is? Gestumblindi (talk) 18:24, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

@Gestumblindi: While I'm not sure about the date and time, I think I've found the location where it was taken. Took me a while to find it on Google Maps but the photo is taken somewhere around 63°53'20.7"N 22°12'37.9"W (map). with the camera directed westwards. Some stark similarities with the Google Map and image are the moss-covered flows, relatively straight dirt road, and that conical hill. --Dora the Axe-plorer (talk) 00:26, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

I have definitely found the place. It is the old south coast road that was used before the new road 427 was erected, halfway between the crossing with road 42 and Grindavík. On google street view, you can see exactly the mountains at the horizon and parts of the old, very straight road at the right, pointing exactly towards the correct position. The conical peak is named Skála-Mælifell (174m), it is east of Slaga. It was missing on OSM, I just added it (it may take a few hours until it is rendered correctly). --Kuhni74 (talk) 10:16, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

So, then that is not near the eruption at all, and it's not Fagradalsfjall. I see that it already has been replaced with a suitable File:Geldingadalagos.jpg here (thanks for the photo, Berserkur!), I'm going to replace it in the other Wikipedia language versions using the Skála-Mælifell image as well. Gestumblindi (talk) 10:21, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

Gestumblindi, I guess my photo shows a slope on Fagradalsfjall, front of pic., it shows mainly Geldingadalir and Stóri-Hrútur. But as I said, taken on the slopes of Fagradalsfjall.--Berserkur (talk) 10:30, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

That's fine, thank you! Gestumblindi (talk) 10:34, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

I noticed it does not show Fagradalsfjall at all, could be misleading. I was thinking of another pic. But it would be helpful noting that the valley and the mountain behind it is not Fagradalsfjall.--Berserkur (talk) 10:41, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

@Berserkur: Maybe like this caption I added now? In other language versions where I replaced the other picture that shows Skála-Mælifell, I already added a caption like "Geldingadalir eruption", like here in Finnish Wikipedia (with help from Google Translate, should be accurate enough for a short caption, I hope) but not specifying explicitly that it doesn't show Fagradalsfjall itself... Gestumblindi (talk) 10:51, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

Maybe this aerial photograph is quite illustrative? I did a number of annotations on it. --Kuhni74 (talk) 11:16, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

@Kuhni74: I think that File:Iceland road 427 Hraunsvik Skalabot Borgarfjall Langihryggur IMG 0168.JPG isn't very suitable because, unless one is actually viewing the full picture at Commons and noticing the annotations, it's very hard to identify Fagradalsfjall in the image, as - thanks for your annotations! - Lyngfell, Borgarfjall, and Slaga are much more prominent. But I have now tried something and did a crop centering on Fagradalsfjall: File:Iceland road 427 Hraunsvik Skalabot Borgarfjall Langihryggur IMG 0168 (cropped) - Fagradalsfjall.JPG - what do you think? Could we use that one? Gestumblindi (talk) 17:24, 27 March 2021 (UTC)

Thanks, that is a good idea, looks good. I invested quite a span of time to search for Commons images that display Fagradalsfjall and I found a few, but usually, the light is poor or they are shown from far away. As most roads pass the massif in greater distance, it's not so easy to find good photographs from nearby... --Kuhni74 (talk) 11:50, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

The pic that was removed is fine, I recognize the landscape.

Anyway, here is a new pic I put on the icelandic Wiki, people on the slopes of the mountain.

https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mynd:Geldingadalagos2.jpg

--Berserkur (talk) 12:49, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

@Berserkur: Very nice picture! I think I found now a good solution (ping also to Kuhni74): A cropped image of Fagradalsfjall itself in the infobox, Berserkur's fine eruption pictures below, one of them with caption "People on the slopes of Fagradalsfjall, watching the Geldingadalir eruption". Gestumblindi (talk) 17:35, 27 March 2021 (UTC)

Fagradalshraun

@Hornstrandir1: Don't know if this is off-topic or classifies as WP:NOR: Possibly due to the unsatisfactory way of tagging mountain massivs and valleys in Open Street Map (but probably also other reasons), somebody called the lava field Fagradalshraun a few weeks ago. In my opinion, this is not appropriate, since the valley "Fagridalur" is on the other (northwestern) side of Fagradalsfjall's highest peak "Langhóll", according to the atlas. This is an obvious example of how unsatisfactory maps form published reality (similar to the initial mismatch "Geldingadalir" vs. "Fagradalsfjall") when journalists don't try to understand what native place names may mean. Guess that this fight is lost, but is there a way how such obviously inappropriate terms can be avoided in the future? I have been discussing this on OSM, too, but without success. People there think that fitting map items into the OSM logic systematically is more important than displaying maps to the public usefully... --Kuhni74 (talk) 09:54, 21 May 2021 (UTC)

Also in the cited MBL article, they seem to recognise that the hraun is on the opposite side of Fagridalur, but the town council would not care... --Kuhni74 (talk) 10:00, 21 May 2021 (UTC)

It's a bit complicated, I think. The lava field which got now the name of Fagradalshraun was/is filling up some remote valleys on Reykjanes. First the eruptions started in Geldingadalir, a complex of small valleys within the bigger Fagradalsfjall mountain massif, then is was/is filling up an adjacent valley complex, called Meradalir, and a nameless valley nearby... Even Icelandic maps which are accessible to the public are sometimes not very precise (though they are continuously getting better ).Hornstrandir1 (talk) 12:13, 21 May 2021 (UTC)

Fagradalshraun is the official name of the whole volcano (that erupted in 2021 an 2022) and its lavafield given to it in April 2021. Fagradalsfjall is an old volcanic mountain next to Fagradalshraun.Sidebart (talk) 13:47, 5 August 2022 (UTC)

@Sidebart: Yes, it became the official name, although it is not a good name, since Fagradalshraun and Fagridalur are on the opposite slopes of the mountain. But that's the way it is now called, whether we like it or not. --Kuhni74 (talk) 11:12, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

Definition

Seems like Fagradalsfjall is used to refer to a few things – a mountain or a plateau, a volcano, a volcanic system or the area covered by the system. At the moment the first paragraph does not explain it properly, and is actually confusing (is the shield volcano referring to this eruption?). The article needs a proper definition (or definitions if there are more than one) with proper sources of what it is. Might also need to consider splitting the article into the place and the eruption event. Hzh (talk) 23:10, 5 June 2021 (UTC)

I think that the article is currently confusing because it reflects the rather confusing state of affairs regarding the naming of the eruption and the old and new mountains there. On the one hand, there is the older volcanic mountain Fagradalsfjall; then, there is the current eruption which started near that mountain, and is variously still called "Geldingadalsgos" (such as very recently here in a June 8 Reykjavík Grapevine article) or "Geldingadalur/Geldingadalir eruption", "Eruption at Fagradalsfjall" (such as in Icelandic Wikipedia: is:Eldgosið við Fagradalsfjall 2021) or simply the "Reykjanes eruption". Meanwhile, that eruption is now currently very visibly forming a new, distinct volcanic mountain, which is not the Fagradalsfjall of old, and looks as if it may become another shield volcano. I would assume that at some point, that mountain will be named. Though Fagradalshraun has been chosen as the name for the new lava field, I don't think it extends to the mountain. Gestumblindi (talk) 23:11, 11 June 2021 (UTC)

Is the old volcano a shield volcano though? It might be best to split the article into two - the location and the current eruption, perhaps as 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption or 2021 Geldingadalur eruption - the precise name might not matter that much since it can be changed into whatever name that it gets given later. Hzh (talk) 19:34, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

Icelandic Wikipedia's article describes the old Fagradalsfjall volcano as a "móbergsfjall", where móberg is palagonite, and as a "stapi", which is a tuya that was formed under a glacier. So it doesn't seem to be a shield volcano, the old one. Gestumblindi (talk) 10:00, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

The Global Volcanism Program lists Fagradalsfjall as a shield volcano. ZFT (talk) 05:53, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

Flood volcanism?

cant find any citations, but will this eruption be considered an example of flood volcanism (see flood basalt)? this citation is about icelandic eruptions overall, not a citation for this event. [1] -Mercurywoodrose2600:1700:5FA1:61B0:FD4C:C906:A194:DC00 (talk) 15:36, 20 June 2021 (UTC)

No, it's just your standard rifting event forming an effusive eruption. Krynh (talk) 19:02, 9 August 2021 (UTC)

Semi-Protection

I noticed that in the revision history a few random users added unneeded edits that could require semi-protection for maybe the duration of the eruption or for a few weeks.

i did this to get a general agreement if this should be done before it is put into place — Preceding unsigned comment added by HavocPlayz (talk • contribs) 19:58, 5 October 2021 (UTC)

Looking at the article's history, I don't see enough vandalism/disruptive editing to justify page protection. Schazjmd (talk) 20:03, 5 October 2021 (UTC)

how much grew the volcano

There is no data on how tall grew the volcano and how thick is the erupted lava field — Preceding unsigned comment added by 191.82.21.83 (talk) 22:32, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

No longer considered part of Krýsuvík

"Although the Fagradalsfjall fissure swarm has previously been considered a split or secondary swarm of the Krýsuvík–Trölladyngja volcanic system (https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=371030), as of September 2022 Icelandic volcanologists managing the Catalogue of Icelandic Volcanoes (https://icelandicvolcanoes.is/) made the decision to identify Fagradalsfjall as a distinct separate system. The recent eruptions and related reports have been reassigned here, and other content will be prepared and adjusted as appropriate in the next few months." —Global Volcanism Program: Fagradalsfjall ZFT (talk) 06:27, 18 September 2022 (UTC)

2023 eruption

Ive just seen reports that the volcano has erupted again, around 5 hours ago videos of the lava flow on twitter — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.17.6.122 (talk) 03:38, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

The volcano erupting right now is not Fagradalsfjal. This volcano is the Reykjanes and Svartsengi volcanic systems https://icelandicvolcanoes.is/?volcano=REY Alriandi (talk) 06:04, 19 December 2023 (UTC)

December 2023 eruption.

The new eruption (December 18th 2023) is ocurring at a different volcanic system (Eldvorp-Svartsengi). I would advise putting all information about that eruption and the earthquakes preceding it into the following article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Iceland_earthquakes