Eyjafjallajökull (pronounced [ˈɛɪjaˌfjatl̥aˌjœkʏtl̥]. In the Icelandic lauguage, it means "island-mountain glacier"
Eyjafjallajokull is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, located in south Iceland, to the north of Skógar and to the west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of the volcano with a summit elevation of 1,666 metres (5,466 ft). The volcano has erupted relatively frequently since the last glacial period, most recently from 1821 to 1823 and again in 2010.
The ice cap covers an area of about 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi), feeding many outlet glaciers. The main outlet glaciers are to the north; Gígjökull, flowing into Lónið, and Steinholtsjökull, flowing into Steinholtslón. Vatnajokull is, howevere, the largest glaceier in Iceland and in fack in Europe.
The Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in 920, 1612 and again from 1821 to 1823 when it caused a glacial lake outburst flood or jökulhlaup. It has erupted twice in 2010—on 20 March and in April/May. The March event forced a brief evacuation of around 500 local people, but the 14 April eruption was ten to twenty times more powerful and caused substantial disruption to air traffic across Europe, and is ongoing. Since May 2010, it has cause little problems and things are back to normal. The damage done in Iceland is negligible, and has only effected few farmers that live close to Eyjafjallajokull
The volcano is fed by a magma chamber under the mountain, which in turn derives from the tectonic divergence of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is part of a chain of volcanoes stretching across Iceland. Its nearest active neighbors are Katla, to the northeast, and Eldfell, on Heimaey, to the southwest.
