Volcanism in Iceland

The island of Iceland credits it's existence to volcanism. Iceland was formed by a large volcanic hotspot that sits on the Mid-Atlantic ridge, which is a divergent boundary. This plate boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates runs north and south beneath the island of Iceland. Throughout Earth's history, the two plates have been pulling away from one another, allowing magma to find weak spots in the lithosphere and make its way to the surface of the Earth's crust, where it turns into lava. This lava hardens and becomes new crust. As this process continues, the island slowly grows, about 2.5 centimeters every year, although some parts grow nearly 9 centimeters per year.

{The Mid-Atlantic Ridge passes directly through Iceland, crediting it's creation and volcanism.}

http://geography-site.co.uk/pages/physical/earth/plate%20boundaries.html

In 2010, one if Icelands many large volcanos, Eyjafjallajökull, erupted without warning. The eruption came after nearly two centuries of the composite volcano being dormant. Lava flows and falls, "fire fountains," and ash were spewing from the volcano in a spectacular but scary show. Most of Europe became ash-covered and it stranded millions of people in airports, as the eruption made the sky above the Atlantic a no-fly zone. Many citizens were evacuated, as hot remnants were ejected from the volcano. Now, many scientists believe that Iceland is a ticking time bomb and we could expect another eruption at any time. Three giant volcanos; Katla,  Hekla, and Laki have begun to swell and grumble so to say, and the experts say that the eruption from any of these volcanos could likely cause global famine and even a shift in the climate.

                                         {The Eyjafjallajökull volcano erutption of 2010.}
                     http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html

                                               {Katla volcano in Southern Iceland}
http://geographyblog.eu/wp/iceland%E2%80%99s-scientists-say-activity-at-katla-volcano-increasing-next-eruption-could-be-huge/

The two largest flood basalt events in historic time have been in Iceland, and one was due to the Katla volcano system, at Eldgjá. A flood basalt is the result of an eruption or series of eruptions that spill basalt lava over stretches of land.

                                                    {Flood Basalt at Eldgjá}
                                             http://www.addax.se/iceland/highlands.html

SOURCES
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iceland/eyjafjallajokull/index.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/doomsday-volcanoes.html
http://www.nat.is/travelguideeng/geology_volcanism.htm