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The 2008 Iceland earthquake, magnitude 6.3, struck on May 29, 2008 at 15:46 UTC. There were no human fatalities, but 30 injuries were reported and a number of sheep were killed.[1] The epicenter of the earthquake was between the towns of Hverager i and Selfoss, about east-southeast of the capital, Reykjav k. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Iceland since the summer of 2000.[2]
Characteristics Iceland straddles the mid-Atlantic ridge where the Eurasian and North-American tectonic plates move away from each other. Volcanic activity is common along such divergent boundaries but strong earthquakes are rare. In Iceland the ridge is somewhat off-set, creating two transform faults where plates move horizontally along each other. One is in the north of the country and one in the south, the strongest Icelandic earthquakes happen along those transform faults. The 29 May quakes are classified by geologists as typical Su urlandsskj lftar (literally: Southern Iceland quakes) which happen on the southern fault. Damage Unlike the quakes in the summer of 2000, the 29 May quake happened in the most densely populated part of the South Iceland district. The population of the affected area is about 12,000 and it includes the towns of Selfoss and Hverager i as well as Eyrarbakki, Stokkseyri and orl ksh fn. Many farms were also affected. See also References el: 2008 es:Terremoto de Islandia de 2008 fa: ( ) is:Su urlandsskj lftinn 29. ma 2008 nl:Aardbeving IJsland 2008
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