Katla (volcano)  Katla () is a large volcano in southern Iceland. It is very active; twenty eruptions have been documented between 930 and 1918, at intervals of 20–90 years. It has not erupted violently for years, although there may have been small eruptions that did not break the ice cover, including ones in 1955, 1999, and 2011. Prior eruptions have had a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of between 4 and 6 on a scale of 0 to 8. In comparison, the Eyjafjallajökull 2010 eruption had a VEI of 4. Bigger VEI-5 eruptions are comparable to Mount Pinatubo's 1991 eruption, while significantly rarer VEI-6 eruptions would be comparable to Krakatoa's 1883 eruption. Katla is one of the largest volcanic sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) on Earth, accounting for up to 4% of total global volcanic carbon dioxide emissions. Katla is one of the largest volcanoes in Iceland. It is situated to the north of Vík í Mýrdal and to the east of the smaller glacier Eyjafjallajökull. Its peak reaches and is partially covered by the Mýrdalsjökull glacier. The system has an area of . The Eldgjá canyon is part of the same volcanic system. The caldera of the Katla volcano has a diameter of and is covered with of ice. The volcano normally erupts every 40–80 years. The flood discharge at the peak of an eruption in 1755 has been estimated at 200,000–400,000 m3/s (7.1–14.1 million cu ft/sec), comparable to the combined average discharge of the Amazon, Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze rivers (about 266,000 m3/s (9.4 million cu ft/sec)). The name "Katla" derives from the word "ketill" ("kettle"), referring to the form of the volcano. "Katla" is also used as a female first name. It is thought that Katla is the source of Vedde Ash, more than of tephra dated to 10,600 years BP found at a number of sites including Vedde in Norway, Denmark, Scotland and North Atlantic cores. Sixteen eruptions have been recorded for Katla since 930.