Myvatn: Iceland's Volcanic Lake

Myvatn — Midge Lake — is one of Iceland's most concentrated areas of volcanic interest. The lake itself, formed approximately 2,300 years ago by a massive lava eruption that blocked the valley, is shallow and extraordinarily productive — its nutrient-rich waters support enormous populations of aquatic insects, which in turn support the highest density of nesting duck species in Europe and clouds of midges so dense in summer that head nets are genuinely necessary. Around the lake, within a 15km radius, are more varied and dense volcanic features than anywhere else in Iceland outside of the active eruption zones.

Hverfjall Crater

Hverfjall is a near-perfect tephra cone crater 2km in diameter, formed in a single explosive eruption approximately 2,500 years ago. A ring road runs around the crater rim and the full circuit on foot takes approximately 90 minutes at a moderate pace. The crater interior is 170 metres deep — walking into it gives a sense of the scale of the explosive event that created it. The views from the rim encompass the entire Myvatn area simultaneously.

Dimmuborgir

Dimmuborgir — Dark Castles — is a lava field of extraordinary formations created when a lava lake drained from beneath a solidified crust, leaving the surface formations behind. The result is a landscape of towers, arches, cave openings and labyrinthine passages through dark basalt. Signposted trails of various lengths navigate the main area. The largest formation, Kirkjan (The Church), is a natural basalt cave large enough to contain several hundred people. Dimmuborgir in Icelandic folk tradition is the home of the 13 Yule Lads — the Icelandic equivalent of Father Christmas, who descend from Dimmuborgir in the 13 days before Christmas.

Pseudocraters

On the south shore of Myvatn, a series of pseudocraters (rootless cones) created when lava flowed over wetland and steam explosions created crater-like formations with no volcanic pipe beneath. The Skutustadir pseudocraters are easily accessible from the ring road, with a walking trail looping through and between the craters. Visually they resemble volcanic craters but were created by steam explosion rather than volcanic eruption — a distinction that requires explanation because they look identical from the outside.

Hverir and Krafla

Hverir geothermal field — 10 minutes from Myvatn — is Iceland's most accessible and dramatic high-temperature geothermal area. Boiling mud pools, steaming vents, sulphur-encrusted ground in vivid yellows and oranges, and fumaroles roaring with pressurised steam create a landscape that looks actively hostile to life. Krafla volcano, 5km further, last erupted in 1984 and sits above a magma chamber that continues to heat the entire area. The Viti explosion crater at Krafla contains a bright blue geothermal lake.

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