Hofsjökull volcanic system
The Hofsjökull volcanic system contains the largest active central volcano in Iceland. It is called Hofsjökull, which is usually regarded as part of the same volcanic system.
Activity
The volcanic system has for Iceland, low activity.There are high temperature geothermal areas associated with the Hofsjökull central volcano, its northern fissure swarm, and Kerlingarfjöll to its south. A sulfurous jökulhlaup occurred in the summer of 2013, from the Hofsjökull glacier with a new ice cauldron being formed at the north-east edge of the Hofsjökull central volcano's caldera. There have been earthquake swarms in the period 1996 to 2013 on the western and northern flanks of the Hofsjökull central volcano, extending to the northern fissure swarm but only isolated earthquakes under Kerlingarfjöll to the south. The last effusive eruption was just to the north of the Hofsjökull icecap between 3000 and 4500 years ago.
Geography
The two central volcanoes are mountain massifs. Hofsjökull is between in diameter. From Hofsjökull, fissure mapping has defined fissure swarms that trend NNW-SSE in the north and SW-NE in the south. These extend to the south-west and south by about. Fissure swarms extend to the north by. The Hofsjökull central volcano caldera is located under the south-west portion of the icecap and is wide and about deep. Nunataks exposed on the caldera rim are high but probable rim height is about from subglacial mapping that also reveals a maximum thickness of ice of. There are post ice–age lava flows to the south, east and north of the Hofsjökull central volcano. Kerlingarfjöll, is eroded, and about in diameter.Geology
The central volcanoes have tholeiite basalt and rhyolite components. In the case of Kerlingarfjöll which is not covered by of ice, the rhyolite is found close to the two central caldera. Kerlingarfjöll, is between 68 and 350 thousand years old. In the case of Hofsjökull the basaltic hyaloclastite deposits have rhyolite outcrops at the margins of the glacier, on some of the nunataks east of the caldera, and at the Arnarfell peak at the south-east margin of the glacier. Fissure vents that have erupted basalts form tuya's to the south.The largest tholeiite basalt lava flow that originates in the southern fissure swarm to the south of Hofsjökull is the 4500 to 7000 years old Illahraun lava, with a composition distinct from Kerlingarfjöll and covers about.
The fissure swarms and a radial pattern of dike intrusions appear to radiate away from the Hofsjökull central volcano suggesting that it is a significant local stress field. To the south the wide western part of the fissure swarm has multiple mainly mostly tensional faults orientated at 30° that are traceable as they extend across the Langjökull volcanic system's 10,000 years ago origin Kjalhraun lava shield. The south-western part of the southern fissure swarm is orientated at 40° and after a shadow to the south produced by the older Kerlingarfjöll the rest of the southern swarm which is about wide, is orientated at 50°. The northern fissure swam is orientated perhaps at -10° from north with a wider spread.