The Lands of Ice and Fire

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The southwest corner of Iceland is by far the most densely populated region. It is also the location of the capital Reykjavík, the northernmost national capital in the world. More than 70 percent of Iceland's population lives in the southwest corner ( Greater Reykjavík and the nearby Southern Peninsula), which covers less than two percent of Iceland's land area. The largest town outside Greater Reykjavík is Reykjanesbær, which is located on the Southern Peninsula, less than 50km (31mi) from the capital. The largest town outside the southwest corner is Akureyri in northern Iceland. Just below the Arctic Circle, situated between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, a remote land emerges from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, dominated by huge glaciers, ashen deserts, and mighty lava structures. Here, along the fault line that crosses the island from north to south, the incessant work of fire and ice traced a route that runs through a world of immeasurable desolation and enthralling beauty, the Icelandic Highlands. Montanus

In 1946, the US Defence Force Allied left Iceland. The nation formally became a member of NATO on 30 March 1949, amid domestic controversy and riots. On 5 May 1951, a defence agreement was signed with the United States. American troops returned to Iceland as the Iceland Defence Force and remained throughout the Cold War. The US withdrew the last of its forces on 30 September 2006. Icelandic culture has its roots in North Germanic traditions. Icelandic literature is popular, in particular the sagas and eddas that were written during the High and Late Middle Ages. Centuries of isolation have helped to insulate the country's Nordic culture from external influence; a prominent example is the preservation of the Icelandic language, which remains the closest to Old Norse of all modern Nordic languages. [242] Hversu há var Marshallaðstoðin sem Ísland fékk eftir seinni heimsstyrjöld?". Vísindavefurinn (in Icelandic). 13 May 2003. Archived from the original on 25 May 2013 . Retrieved 27 October 2014. The highest elevation for Iceland is listed as 2,110m (6,920ft) at Hvannadalshnúkur (64°00′N 16°39′W).Groupset: SRAM eTap Eagle AXS “Mullet” x SRAM eTap Force AXS DUB. Chainring: 38 tooth. Wheels: Halo Vapor GXC 650B with Panaracer Gravel King SK tyres. Iceland has also produced many chess masters and hosted the historic World Chess Championship 1972 in Reykjavík during the height of the Cold War. As of 2008 [update], there have been nine Icelandic chess grandmasters, a considerable number given the small size of the population. [294] Bridge is also popular, with Iceland participating in several international tournaments. Iceland won the world bridge championship (the Bermuda Bowl) in Yokohama, Japan, in 1991 and took second place (with Sweden) in Hamilton, Bermuda, in 1950. [295] See also An OECD assessment found that 64% of Icelanders aged 25–64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, which is lower than the OECD average of 73%. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, only 69% have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, significantly lower than the OECD average of 80%. [108] Nevertheless, Iceland's education system is considered excellent: the Programme for International Student Assessment ranks it as the 16th best performing, above the OECD average. [200] Students were particularly proficient in reading and mathematics.

When a killer cloud hit Britain". BBC News. January 2007. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018 . Retrieved 18 April 2010. When the island was first settled, it was extensively forested, with around 30% of the land covered in trees. In the late 12th century, Ari the Wise described it in the Íslendingabók as "forested from mountain to sea shore". [87] Permanent human settlement greatly disturbed the isolated ecosystem of thin, volcanic soils and limited species diversity. The forests were heavily exploited over the centuries for firewood and timber. [88] Deforestation, climatic deterioration during the Little Ice Age, and overgrazing by sheep imported by settlers caused a loss of critical topsoil due to erosion. Today, many farms have been abandoned. Three-quarters of Iceland's 100,000 square kilometres (39,000sqmi) is affected by soil erosion; 18,000km 2 (6,900sqmi) is affected to a degree serious enough to make the land useless. [87] Only a few small birch stands now exist in isolated reserves. The planting of new forests has increased the number of trees, but the result does not compare to the original forests. Some of the planted forests include introduced species. [88] The tallest tree in Iceland is a sitka spruce planted in 1949 in Kirkjubæjarklaustur; it was measured at 25.2m (83ft) in 2013. [89] Yes. And hospitable — you’ll find yourself making friends easily. Two thirds of Iceland’s 350,000 population are based in Reykjavik, meaning there’s a buzzy city bar and restaurant scene at the weekends — especially in summer, when it stays light late into the night. Route 1, or the Ring Road ( Icelandic: Þjóðvegur 1 or Hringvegur), was completed in 1974, and is the main road that runs around Iceland and connects all the inhabited parts of the island, with the interior of the island being uninhabited. This paved road is 1,332km (828mi) [171] long with one lane in each direction, except near larger towns and cities and in the Hvalfjörður Tunnel where it has more lanes. Many bridges on it, especially in the north and east, are single lanes and made of timber or steel.A translation of the Bible was published in the 16th century. Important compositions from the 15th to the 19th century include sacred verse, most famously the Passion Hymns of Hallgrímur Pétursson, and rímur, rhyming epic poems. Originating in the 14th century, rímur were popular into the 19th century, when the development of new literary forms was provoked by the influential National-Romantic writer Jónas Hallgrímsson. In recent times, Iceland has produced many great writers, the best-known of whom is arguably Halldór Laxness, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955 (the only Icelander to win a Nobel Prize thus far). Steinn Steinarr was an influential modernist poet during the early 20th century who remains popular. The climate of Iceland's coast is subarctic. The warm North Atlantic Current ensures generally higher annual temperatures than in most places of similar latitude in the world. Regions in the world with similar climates include the Aleutian Islands, the Alaska Peninsula, and Tierra del Fuego, although these regions are closer to the equator. Despite its proximity to the Arctic, the island's coasts remain ice-free through the winter. Ice incursions are rare, with the last having occurred on the north coast in 1969. [84] The climate varies between different parts of the island. Generally speaking, the south coast is warmer, wetter, and windier than the north. The Central Highlands are the coldest part of the country. Low-lying inland areas in the north are the aridest. Snowfall in winter is more common in the north than in the south. Sixty-nine municipalities in Iceland govern local matters like schools, transport, and zoning. [117] These are the actual second-level subdivisions of Iceland, as the constituencies have no relevance except in elections and for statistical purposes. Reykjavík is by far the most populous municipality, about four times more populous than Kópavogur, the second one. [68] With Christianity came the tools of literacy. Over time, the Icelanders gained a reputation as the history keepers of northern Europe. According to Saxo Grammaticus, a Danish historian writing from about 1185, Icelanders, “…devote all their time to improving our knowledge of others’ deeds” and “regard it a real pleasure to discover and commemorate the achievements of every nation.”