Which volcano is bigger and more dangerous, La Palma or Grindavik in Iceland? Differences and similarities

Europe is not often the centre of volcanic activity due to the majority of the continent avoiding the tectonic fault-lines. When there are eruptions, comparisons are inevitable.

A recent and memorable European eruption from the last two years happened further south in the volcanic islands of Spain. One of these islands, La Palma, off the coast of Morocco, had a particularly violent eruption.

Here, the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted in September 2021; some 7,000 people were evacuated, over 2,000 buildings destroyed and an area of 900 hectares scorched by lava flows, decimating the island’s banana crops.

Differences and similarities between the two

The differences between the two regions are notable. La Palma’s Cumbre Vieja, a stratovolcano, is associated with explosive eruptions, while the Reykjanes Peninsula’s fissure eruptions are more effusive. This has been seen with the Grindavik eruption where magma has oozed out of the ground rather than exploding from a volcano. Compare the two videos tagged above and below.

In both cases local population have had to be evacuated. Regardless of an aggressive explosion or not, molten rock coming down a hillside is not safe for a population. In terms of the long-term impact for other countries, such as in terms of air travel, both are likely to have fairly minimal; at this stage Reykjavik airport is while La Palma’s was briefly closed.

Neither are on the scale of the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in which more than 100,000 flights were cancelled.