Earthquakes in Iceland Today
Iceland straddles the divergent Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian plates pull apart at roughly 2 cm per year, directly over a deep mantle plume (the Iceland hotspot). This unique tectonic intersection drives continuous volcanic rifting, extensive fissure swarms on the Reykjanes Peninsula and Northern Volcanic Zone, and energetic transform earthquakes along the South Iceland Seismic Zone and Tjörnes Fracture Zone.
Danger Level (72h)
72-hour composite hazard forecast
Recent Quakes (30d)
Recorded in the last 30 days
Max Magnitude (30d)
Largest earthquake in the last 30 days
Recent earthquakes
Counts cover the seismic belts this platform monitors in Iceland, not its administrative borders. A monitored belt can reach across a border, and events there are listed with the country of their epicentre.
Volcanoes of Iceland
3 dedicated profiles · 35 Holocene volcanoes in total
Tectonic setting
Iceland straddles the divergent Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian plates pull apart at roughly 2 cm per year, directly over a deep mantle plume (the Iceland hotspot). This unique tectonic intersection drives continuous volcanic rifting, extensive fissure swarms on the Reykjanes Peninsula and Northern Volcanic Zone, and energetic transform earthquakes along the South Iceland Seismic Zone and Tjörnes Fracture Zone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the emergency number in Iceland?
The emergency number in Iceland is 112, answered by Neyðarlínan / Almannavarnir (Civil Protection). After strong shaking, keep the line free for those trapped or injured and check official channels for aftershock and tsunami advisories.
Who monitors earthquakes in Iceland?
The national seismic authority is Icelandic Meteorological Office (Veðurstofa Íslands) (IMO). EarthquakeLive cross-checks its bulletins against 18 international networks, so an event may appear here with a slightly different magnitude until the agencies converge on a final solution.