Fun Facts About Iceland

Located on the northern Atlantic bounds is a small island nation, Iceland, populated sparsely with natives having exceptionally fair complexion. This place is famous for its natural water heaters and spas which exist only because of the presence of a large number of active volcanoes in the area. Apart from the natural geysers and spas, the tourists are attracted to this country because of the warm hearted population along with whale watching. Despite its low population and lack of natural resources, Iceland is a prosperous country and is well sufficed by the growth of fishing industry. Though Iceland’s economy rests on thin grounds, this place has ample untapped natural resources lying unexploited. Iceland, as a country, has lot to offer apart from ice capped peaks, glaciers and hot water geysers. The facts mentioned below will bring to light a lot about this country, unknown to many. Read on to discover Iceland.

Fast Facts

Capital: Reykjavík
Official Language: Icelandic
National Language: Icelandic
Other Languages: English, German, Nordic languages,
Demonym: Icelander, Icelandic
Religion: Lutheran Church of Iceland (predominant), Roman Catholic, Reykjavik Free Church, Hafnarfjorour Free Church
Legislature: Unicameral Althingi (parliament)
Independence: 17^th June 1944
Constitution: 16^th June 1944
Area: 103,000 sq km
Population:  324,000 (UN, 2011)
Currency: Krona
National Animal: Falcon

Interesting And Fun Facts About Iceland

• Iceland is a small island nation located on westernmost part of Europe. The capital city of Iceland, Reykjavik, is the northernmost capital city in the entire world.
• A staggering 11 percent of the total area of the country is under thick cover of glaciers and is surrounded with water from all sides. So, if global warming continues, the results will be devastating for this small country.
• Iceland has a number of dormant and active volcanoes, which erupt quite often. Quite recently, in the year 2010, there was a volcanic eruption which took place inside the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, blowing ash thousands of metres high. Because of this the air traffic of Europe was disrupted for many days.
• The country of Iceland is situated between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Placed in sea, North West of United Kingdom, its size is almost the same as Kentucky.
• The landscape of this place is mostly plateaus with the exception of a few mountain peaks and ice fields. It has a fascinating coastline which is marked by fjords, the deep inlets which are formed because of continuous freezing and melting of glaciers.
• Interestingly, the only animals which were found when Iceland was first inhabited were the foxes. With settlers coming in from different parts of the world, came the domesticated animals of different kinds along with reindeers. Today, most of the wildlife in this area is preserved. There are four national parks in Iceland and more than eighty natural preserves dot this land.
• The Vatna Glacier, located in the south-eastern part of the country, splurges to a staggering 3200 sq miles. The average ice thickness of this glacier is 3000 feet, giving it the honour of being one of the biggest and thickest glaciers in the world.
• Iceland, though frozen throughout the year, has a number of active and dormant volcanoes. In fact, one tenth of the entire mainland is cooled lava beds and glaciers. The place has 200 active volcanoes which vent out almost one tenth of earth’s total lava flow. Though these explosive volcanoes are dangerous, the scientists and engineers in Iceland have tamed these geographical giants to produce hydroelectric power and geothermal water reserves.
• Being a northern country, one expects the weather of Iceland to be exceptionally chilly, but quite contrary to this supposition the climate of this place is moderate and pleasant. This is especially because of the Gulf Stream current along with the warm south-westerly winds which blow through the country.
• The peculiar geographical features of this northern country are its naturally explosive hot water geysers, naturally occurring geothermal spas, and waterfalls which are fed by the melting glaciers e.g. Gullfoss or the golden falls. Along with this, the country is also famous for whale watching. These are a few reasons that this country registers 270,000 tourist footfalls every year.
• The primary settlers who occupied this land were ancient Irish religious people who wanted to lead a sage like life. It wasn’t until 930’s that the Althingi, the national assembly, was established, which is till date the oldest continuous parliament in the world.
• Iceland remained an integral part of Norway till the time it was taken over by Denmark, under whom the country remained for five hundred years. But, in the year 1944 the country wriggled out of the clutches of Denmark to form an independent republic.
• The flag of this ice nation represents the three main elements. Red is for the volcanic fires; White, which is obviously the snow; and Blue represents the colour of ocean which surrounds the nation.
• The people of Iceland are called Icelanders or Icelandic, and have a Scandinavian descent.  They are tall, fair and blond. As the Icelanders are not diverse (talking of the diversity in lineage) the natives are prone to almost the same hereditary diseases.
• Despite being a small country, the people of Iceland take pride in their culture, languages, cuisines and traditions. There still is a generation of Icelanders who believes in mythical creatures like elves and trolls.
• Education is free for the Icelanders: from schooling to college. Danish and English are the two languages in which each student is taught.
• Though Iceland is a member of NATO, it has no armed forces. The country is also among the rare, nuclear free zones.
• For a long time, Iceland resisted the idea to join the European Union but quite recently its attitude softened and it applied for the membership.
• Life expectancy in Iceland is one among the highest in the world. It is 81.3 years for women and 76.4 years for men.