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Updated: February 2009. Click on an image to see the FULL size with a caption.
Iceland is not, as its unfortunate name would suggest, covered in ice. Nor is it just a barren lunar landscape of congealed lava flows and windswept tundra. But you will find both those scenarios side by side on this North Atlantic island, along with fertile farmland, rolling hills, glacier-carved valleys and canyons, bubbling, steaming, geothermally active ‘hot spots’ and the vast, desertlike wasteland of the Interior and Central Highlands. Volcanic and geothermal features – geysers, thermal springs, fumaroles, lava flows, mudpots, craters, calderas and igneous plugs – figure prominently in the landscape. – Lonely Planet.
Iceland sits atop the North Atlantic Ridge, the fault line where two of the Earth’s tectonic plates are slowly drifting apart, just south of the Arctic Circle and less than 300km from Greenland. Although it’s as big as England, Iceland’s population is only around 300,000 with more than half living in the greater Reykjavik area. Glaciers cover 11% of Iceland, with Vatnajokull the largest in Europe and third-largest glacier in the world.
Considering the northerly location of Iceland, its climate is much milder than might be expected. The mean annual temperature for Reykjavik's is 5°C, the average January temperature being -0.4°C and July 11.2°C. Although the summer daytime temperatures range from 10-15C, it does rain a lot.
Iceland is expensive – really expensive: over $100 a day for a basic rental car, a beer for $15, a chicken entree for $50, Bed and Breakfast for $150-$250 per night, a CD for $40!