Iceland, the "Land of Fire and Ice"

Iceland is the size of Kentucky with a population of only 320,000, 65% of whom live in Reykjavík.

Language

Icelandic is similar to what the Vikings spoke and most ancient literature can be read by Icelanders. Here are a few extra letters in the Icelandic alphabet:   ð æ Æ ö Ö Ð þ.   The English word geyser (a spouting hot spring), is derived from geyser … the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush."

Time Zone ~ Daylight ~ Temperature

Iceland is on Greenwich Mean Time.   The least amount of daylight is 4-hours and 7-minutes on December 21st and the greatest amount of daylight is 21-hours on June, 21st.  December and January get as cold as 36°F and July and August average 57°F.

History of Iceland

In geological terms, Iceland is a young island. It started to form about 20 million years ago from a series of volcanic eruptions.   The first Norwegian settlement dates back to 874AD.

Government

Ðingvellir, (Thingvillir), National Park, home of the oldest existing Parliament in the world dating back to 930AD, the first National Assembly making it the oldest Parliament in the world.   Iceland gained its independence from Denmark in 1944.

Brennivin

The Icelandic "Brennivin" a non-sweet cumin schnapps called by the locals, "Black Death" has an herbal-medicinal taste which makes Irish Coffee, I renamed:   "Icelandic Coffee."

Northern Lights – The Aurora Borealis

22013 will have the most active Northern Lights of recent times and Iceland is one of the best places in the world to see them.

Volcanoes (and Eyjafjallajökull in particular)

Iceland has the greatest concentration of active volcanoes in the world. Iceland averages one volcanic eruption every five years.   Eyjafjallajökull consists of a volcano completely covered by an ice cap. The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were relatively small for volcanic eruptions, but caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe over an initial period of six days in April 2010.   The eruption was declared officially over in October 2010, when snow on the glacier did not melt.   From 14–20 April, ash covered large areas of northern Europe when the volcano erupted. About 20 countries closed their airspace (a condition known as ATC Zero) and it affected over 100,000 travelers.

9 Reasons Volcanoes Are AWESOME!

We’re having some hot volcano action up here with an ongoing fissure eruption at the Holuhraun lava-field north of Vatnajökull Glacier. But we Icelanders have learned to harness the power of our fiery friends. Here are 10 things volcanoes do that are AWESOME:

            1. Create breathtaking Lava Tubes & Ice Caves for Exploring
            2. Provide clean, renewable geothermal energy to heat homes & businesses
            3. Provide geothermal heating for outdoor pools & spas
            4. Heat greenhouses that grow organic hothouse tomatoes
            5. Heat the ground for geothermal bread-baking
            6. Create exciting exploding geysers like Strokkur
            7. Form unique lava formations at Lake Myvatn
            8. Produce the stunning black sand beaches of Vik
            9. Make awesome volcano magma chambers for climbing INSIDE

Glaciers

Vatnajökull covers 8% of Iceland and is the largest/widest glacier in Europe.

Reindeer

Both Austfiröir reindeer cows and bulls grow antlers.

Birds in Iceland

To date, 377 species of birds have been recorded in Iceland which is a remarkable feat when one considers that just 75 (or 20% of them) are regular breeders.   Vagrants therefore make up the majority of the Icelandic List.

Chickens

"Settlement Chickens" have been preserved in Iceland since its settlement 1,100 years ago.

Puffins

The largest colony of penguins in the world, (ten million), makes them the national mascot.

Icelandic Horses

The Icelandic horse came from Mongolia and is highly protected.   Although the horses are small, at times pony-sized, they are known for their distinctive five gaits.

Pilot Whales

The long-finned pilot whales eat 50 kilograms of food a day.

Harbor Seals

Harbor seals can hold their breath up to 30-minutes.

Harbor Porpoise

The Harbor Porpoise is the smallest species of whale around Iceland and is about the same weight as a person.

Icelandic Goats

The rare Icelandic goat thrives in Iceland.

Arctic Fox

The Arctic Fox is the only land mammal that came to Iceland without human assistance.

Ducks of Iceland

There are more breeds of ducks breeding in Iceland than anywhere else in the world.

Pink-Footed Geese

A third of all the pink-footed Geese in the world lay their eggs in Iceland.

Whales around Iceland

Whaling in Iceland began with spear-drift whaling which was practiced from as early as the 12th century and continued in a relic form until the late 19th century.   Iceland is home to 23 species of whales.

Waterfalls

"Gullfoss is the largest waterfall in Europe.

The Great Geysir

The Great Geysir, is a geyser in southwestern Iceland. Eruptions at Geysir can hurl boiling water up to 70 meters in the air. Eruptions may occur every three minutes or be infrequent and have in the past stopped altogether for years at a time.   Geysir has been active for approximately 10,000 years.   100% of Iceland's electricity is geothermal from 100% renewable resources.

Cinema

Icelanders watch more cinema movies than any other nation.

Illegal Pets

Owning a pet lizard, snake or turtle is against the law in Iceland.