Iceland is the best place to study about Glacier and glacial landforms. Almost all types of Glaciers are found here, ranging from the small cirque glaciers to extensive glacier caps. Glaciers are classified based on their size and relationship to topography. The smallest glaciers are confined to mountain valleys. These are called Valley glacier or Alpine glacier. Larger masses of ice cover an entire mountain range or volcano. These glaciers are called Ice caps and most glaciers in Iceland classify as Ice caps.Eyjafjallajokull is the fifth largest glacier in Iceland. It is situated to the north of Skogar and to the west of Myrdalsjokull. The ice cap of the glacier covers an active stratovolcano with a summit elevation of 1666 meters, and a crater of 3 to 4 Km in diameter and has erupted rather frequently since the ice age. The last eruption was in 1821 - 1823, causing a fatal glacier run. And most recently erupted again in 2010. This recent eruption is thought to have begun on 20th march 2010, about 8km east of the top crater of the volcano. This first eruption in the form of a fissure vent (a linear volcanic vent through which lava erupts, usually without any explosive activity) did not occur under the glacier and was smaller in scale than had been thought by some geologist. On April 14th 2010, Eyjafjallajokull resumed erupting after a brief pause, this time from the top crater in the center of the glacier, causing meltwater (water released by the melting of galcial ice) floods to rush down the nearby rivers, forcing 800 people to be evacuated. This second eruption threw volcanic ash several kilometer up in the atmosphere and also has created a rare electrical storms.
Nature is admirable, peaceful and pleasant when it is silent but once active it is disastrous!View Source: Wikipedia
