Lakigigar is a volcanic fissure in southern Iceland responsible for the worst volcanic eruption in the country’s history.

On 8 June 1783 the fissure opened with explosive eruptions caused by interaction of groundwater with the rising magma, producing over 130 craters. The fissure continued to erupt for the next eight months, finally ceasing on 7 February 1784. This period of eruption is now often referred to as Skaftáreldar (“Fires of the Skafta River”). At its peak, the ash cloud may have reached as far as China. 

When eruptions finally ceased the gasses and ash produced had already killed a large portion of the population, and an estimated 25% more died in the famine that followed. The lava flows cover 0.5% of Iceland’s land area.