The Volcano You Can Go Inside
Near Reykjavík, visitors are lowered in an open lift into the heart of a volcano, into the empty chamber where the magma used to be.
What was reported
Þríhnúkagígur is a dormant volcano in south-west Iceland that last erupted about 4,000 years ago. Unusually, its magma chamber didn't fill with solid rock after the eruption: the magma drained away, leaving a vast, open cavern about 120 metres deep, reached through the crater at the top.
Since 2012, visitors have been lowered in an open window-cleaner's lift down into the chamber, whose walls are coloured red, yellow and purple by minerals.
Explanations offered
Scientists aren't sure why the magma drained out instead of hardening in place, as it does in most volcanoes. The cavern gives a rare chance to see the inside of a volcano's plumbing.
- When
- Dormant for about 4,000 years
- Where
- Þríhnúkagígur, near Reykjavík, Iceland
- Witnesses
- Visitors since 2012
- Status
- A real place
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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