LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Iceland: Island
built 631 days ago
Iceland is a result of a rare combination of tectonic settings, a hot spot located beneath a mid-ocean ridge. Iceland is one of the few places where a mid-ocean ridge is exposed above sea level (the Azores are another example). The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge, is splitting the island apart at a rate of 3.2 cm/yr and creating the Eurasian and North American plates. The rifting causes numerous fissure eruptions. New volcanic material is erupted at a rate of 0.04 cubic km/year. The black and gray areas are continental flood basalts (the North Atlantic Volcanic Province) that are associated with the rifting of Europe away from Greenland (North America) and the formation of the Iceland hot spot about 55-60 million years ago.
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Iceland is the world's 18th-largest island, and Europe's second largest island following Great Britain. The country is 103,000 km² (39,768.5 sq mi) in size, of which 62.7%is wasteland. Lakes and glaciers cover 14.3%; only 23% is vegetated. [5] The largest lakes are Þórisvatn (Reservoir): 83–88 km² (32–34 sq mi) and Þingvallavatn: 82 km² (32 sq mi); other important lakes include Lögurinn and Mývatn. Öskjuvatn is the deepest lake at 220 m (722 ft).
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The climate is relatively mild and humid (especially in the west and south), owing to the proximity of the North Atlantic Drift; ... N and E Iceland have a polar, tundralike climate. Grasses predominate; timber is virtually absent, and much of the land is barren. (Some of this is a result of human habitition, which led to deforestation and overgrazing.) Only about one fourth of the island is habitable, and practically all the larger inhabited places are located on the coast; they are ReykjavÃk, Akureyri, Hafnarfjörður, Siglufjörður, Akranes, and Isafjörður.
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The settlement of Iceland began in 874 when, according to Landnámabók, the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent Norwegian settler on the island.[2] Others had visited the island earlier and stayed over winter. Over the next centuries, people of Nordic and Gaelic origin settled in Iceland. Until the twentieth century, the Icelandic population relied on fisheries and agriculture, and was from 1262 to 1944 a part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies. In the twentieth century, Iceland's economy and welfare system developed quickly.
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The chilliest thing about Iceland is really its name. In January the temperature is warmer than in New York and the welcome for travelers is always warm. In Iceland, almost everyone speaks fluent English and Americans always feel welcome. Experience extraordinary views of surging geysers, thundering waterfalls and moonlike volcanic craters. Play golf at midnight because the sun never sets in summer. Fly to the Westmann Islands and visit some of the 10 million puffins that live there. Iceland is for the young and the young at heart.
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Geologically, Iceland is not very old. It was formed by volcanic eruptions during the last 60 million years. A large number of volcanoes are still active on the island. Earthquakes are frequent, and hot springs bubble to the surface in volcanic areas, especially in the southwest. Steam rising from hot springs in a southwestern bay gave rise to the name of Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavík, which is an Icelandic term meaning “Smoky Bay.” Today, abundant geothermal energy provides much of Iceland’s heating needs.
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