Leirhnjukur Volcanic Field

Leirhnjúkur sits at the heart of the Krafla volcanic system, north of Reykjahlíð, and is the most geologically alive spot around Lake Mývatn. Two eruption cycles — the Mývatn Fires of 1724–1729 and the Krafla Fires of 1975–1984 — laid down a plain of black lava around a pale, steaming rise streaked yellow and orange. It is a lava field to walk, not a place to bathe, and a marked trail leads across the still-cooling crust.