July 11, 1300 Eruption of Hekla

Name: July 11, 1300 Eruption of Hekla
Start: 1300-07-11
Location: Hekla, Iceland

July 11, 1300 · VEI 4 · 600 deaths

Hekla in Iceland erupted on July 11, 1300 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 4. The eruption killed 600 people, counting its secondary effects.

Where it erupted

Hekla, Iceland, with its other significant eruptions.

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The eruption

Date: July 11, 1300
Volcano: Hekla, stratovolcano
Country: Iceland
Volcanic Explosivity Index: 4, large (eruption column 10 to 25 km)
Location: 63.983° N, 19.666° W

The toll

Deaths: 600 with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Tephra-fall associated with eruption caused famine, killing 600 in the winter following the eruption. (reference #9675)

Other significant eruptions of Hekla

Every eruption in 1300 The 1300s Hekla Earthquakes near Hekla This day in weather history

Sources

Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 4244.