Reykjanes Peninsula

About Reykjanes Peninsula:

• Reykjanes is a peninsula in southwest Iceland, characterized by immense lava fields, volcanoes, and heightened geothermal activity.
• It runs along the Mid-Atlantic Rift, where the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates are drifting apart.
• Due to this geological setting, the whole peninsula is extremely volcanically active, covered with moss-coated lava fields and cone-shaped mountains.
• It has several high-temperature geothermal areas, three of which have been harnessed to generate electricity.
• It is home to some 30,000 people, or nearly 8% of the country’s total population.
• UNESCO recognised Reykjanes as a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2015.
• Since 2021, the Reykjanes Peninsula has seen a marked increase in volcanic activity, with eruptions occurring frequently.
• There are frequent earthquakes due to the movement of the tectonic plates, but are commonly minor events that can hardly be felt by humans.

Q1: What is Plate Tectonics?

Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into large slabs of solid rock, called “plates,” that glide over Earth's mantle, the rocky inner layer above Earth’s core. Earth’s solid outer layer, which includes the crust and the uppermost mantle, is called the lithosphere. Below the lithosphere is the asthenosphere — a viscous layer kept malleable by heat deep within the Earth. It lubricates the undersides of Earth's tectonic plates, allowing the lithosphere to move around. 

News: Volcano erupts in Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula for seventh time in a year