The volcanic eruption at Sundhnúksgíga on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula has reached defense structures near Svartsengi Power Station and the Blue Lagoon attraction.
According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), the eruption remains stable as of Saturday, although lava is advancing westward, placing pressure on dikes and thickening along the resort's defenses.
Lava continues to flow from three active craters, with the central crater being the most active. No earthquakes have been recorded in the area.
This eruption, which began Wednesday evening, marks the seventh volcanic event on the Reykjanes Peninsula in under a year, continuing a surge of geological activity in the region.
The IMO released a map on Friday which is valid until Monday, showing which hazards are impacting which areas, including lava flow, sink holes, and gas pollution.
The town of Grindavík, home to 3,800 residents, lies at the epicenter of this seismic activity. Already battered by previous eruptions, the latest event has forced the evacuation of 50 homes and the Blue Lagoon resort.
The resort's parking lot was engulfed in lava on Thursday.
A social media user, @PatterKayleigh, posted footage of the volcanic activity to X, formerly Twitter, as she flew over Reykjanes on Thursday.
She filmed the clip from her window seat on an EasyJet plane. "My life has peaked. Nothing is ever topping this," the user wrote in the caption of the video. It had been viewed 6.4 million times by Sunday.
The IMO's forecast predicts gas pollution will shift southwest and south toward Grindavík through Sunday, though no wildfires are expected.
Once dormant for 800 years, the area is now experiencing something of a geological revival.
Are the Eruptions in Iceland Long-Term?
Geologists warn that these eruptions could persist for decades—or even centuries.
"The last time we saw this, it lasted decades to hundreds of years," David Pyle, a professor of Earth sciences at the University of Oxford, previously told Newsweek. "We're seeing the slow release of accumulated strain as the American Plate and the Eurasian Plate pull apart."
This slow-motion drama underscores Iceland's unique geology. Fissure-type eruptions, like those on the Reykjanes Peninsula, produce dramatic lava flows, but are relatively low in explosivity.
Yet the potential for an underwater eruption—where magma meets seawater—raises concerns about short-lived, but violent, interactions that could release acidic steam and fine ash.
"One sequence of events that people have anticipated, but that we haven't seen yet in this eruption, is if the fissures propagate through Grindavik and then erupt underwater. Then there's a prospect of more violent eruptions," Pyle said.
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