[citation needed] The epicenter of the earthquake was between the towns of Hveragerði and Selfoss, about 45 kilometers (28 mi) east-southeast of the capital, Reykjavík.

[5] Iceland straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the Eurasian and North-American tectonic plates move away from each other.

In Iceland the ridge is somewhat off-set, creating two transform faults where plates move horizontally along each other.

[6] One is in the north of the country and one in the south; the strongest Icelandic earthquakes happen along those transform faults.

The population of the affected area is about 12,000 and it includes the towns of Selfoss and Hveragerði as well as Eyrarbakki, Stokkseyri and Þorlákshöfn.