Eldgjá

Eldgjá (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈɛltˌcauː] ^ⓘ, "fire canyon") is a volcano and a canyon in Iceland. Eldgjá is part of the Katla volcano; it is a segment of a 40 kilometres (25 mi) long chain of volcanic craters and fissure vents that extends northeast away from Katla volcano almost to the Vatnajökull ice cap. This fissure experienced a major eruption around 939 CE, which was the largest effusive eruption in recent history. It covered about 780 square kilometres (300 sq mi) of land with 18.6 cubic kilometres (4.5 cu mi) of lava from two major lava flows.

While Icelandic records about the effects of the eruption are sparse, paleoclimate proxies and historical records from China, Europe and the Islamic world describe widespread impacts on the Northern Hemisphere climate. The Eldgjá eruption produced a noticeable cooling of the climate, with resulting cold winters and food crises across Eurasia.