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Are there earthquakes or volcanoes in Norway?

How often the ground shakes in Norway and where its volcano is.

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Short answer

Norway has frequent small earthquakes but a low risk of large ones, and its only active volcano, Beerenberg, is on the remote island of Jan Mayen. Mainland Norway has no active volcanoes. Most earthquakes happen at great depth and are not felt. In 1904 a magnitude 5.4 earthquake in the Oslofjord area damaged buildings, especially chimneys.

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Why

  1. According to NORSAR's earthquake service, Norway is the area of Northern Europe with the most earthquakes today, but the probability of a major quake is small.
  2. Nordland is considered one of the most seismically active regions in Northern Europe, and the strongest known quake on the Norwegian mainland struck Lurøy in Nordland in 1819.
  3. Beerenberg on Jan Mayen, about 1,000 km west of mainland Norway, is the world's northernmost active volcano and last erupted in 1985.

Details

The strongest recent earthquake on Norwegian territory hit Jan Mayen on 30 August 2012 with magnitude 6.6 and caused some damage and landslides on the island. Jan Mayen has no permanent residents, only staff from the Armed Forces and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Around Oslo the bedrock still shows traces of volcanoes from the late Carboniferous and Permian periods, including lava flows of rhomb porphyry.

Tip

You can follow recent earthquakes in and around Norway on jordskjelv.no, the earthquake site run by NORSAR.

What may differ

Svalbard and Jan Mayen are more exposed than most of the mainland: Svalbard is particularly prone to seismic activity, and Jan Mayen is the only part of Norway with an active volcano.

Common misconception

Norway never has earthquakes.

What actually happens

Norway has more earthquakes than any other area in Northern Europe, but most are small and deep, so people rarely feel them.

People also ask

  • Are there volcanoes in Norway?
  • Does Norway have earthquakes?

Sources

Information checked on 15 October 2026.

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