Holuhraun is a large lava field just north of the Vatnajökull ice cap, in the Icelandic Highlands, in Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla, Northeastern Region, Iceland. The lava field was created by fissure eruptions.[1] After a research expedition in 1880, the lava field was initially called Kvislarhraun. Four years later, it received its current name by the geologist and geographer, Þorvaldur Thoroddsen.[1] Holuhraun is the site of an ongoing volcanic eruption which began on 29 August 2014 and produced a lava field of more than 85 km2and 1.4 km3  – the largest in Iceland since 1783.

 

 

Located at the northern and southern extensions of the Bárðarbunga and Askja fissure systems, respectively, the soil is mainly composed of lavas derived from these volcanoes, either in the form of flows or alluvial deposits of volcanic origin. The geological configuration, along with the presence of nearby subglacial volcanoes such as Bárðarbunga and Grímsvötn, is responsible for the risk of jökulhlaups, which have already affected Holuhraun, repeatedly.