fun facts about iceland

population: ~260,000, 65% in Reykjavik(Boston proper: ~595,000)

area: approximately size of (uk – scotland)

less than 1/3 of land inhabitable

national language: icelandic,a form of ancient norwegian. carefully protected by governmentlargely unchanged for past 1500 years ancient name system still in use

economics:pre-1960, iceland was largely

considereda 3rd world country

since then, geothermal energy allowed country to grow largely self-subsistent

today:geothermal energy used for nearly

everything now transitioning to hydrogen-based

vehicles

Iceland is located on the mid-atlantic ridge, at the intersection of America and Eurasia

fastest “growing” country in the world, tectonic plates spreading at 2+cm/year.

Iceland is located on the mid-atlantic ridge, at the intersection of America and Eurasia

over 100 volcanoes in Iceland10 “extremely active”, last major eruption in 2001

the 24-hr canyon:

The canyon at Gullfoss is believed by geologists to have been created over a period of 24 hoursby a glacier exploding

the land of Bjork:

Bjork performed a concert here in an ancientvolcanic crater