89-422: Skjaldbreiður ( Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈscaltˌpreiːðʏr̥] , "broad shield") is an Icelandic lava shield formed in a huge and quite protracted eruption series from about roughly 9,500 years ago. The extensive lava fields which were produced by this eruption, flowed southwards, and formed the basin of Þingvallavatn , Iceland's largest lake, and Þingvellir , the "Parliament Plains" where
178-569: A longhouse in Stöðvarfjörður that may date to as early as 800. Swedish Viking explorer Garðar Svavarsson was the first to circumnavigate Iceland in 870 and establish that it was an island. He stayed during the winter and built a house in Húsavík . Garðar departed the following summer, but one of his men, Náttfari , decided to stay behind with two slaves. Náttfari settled in what is now known as Náttfaravík, and he and his slaves became
267-469: A shield volcano with a magma chamber underneath). Several classifications of the systems exist, for example there is one of 30 systems, and one of 34 systems, with the later currently being used in Iceland itself. 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
356-537: A summit in Reykjavík in 1986 between United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev , during which they took significant steps towards nuclear disarmament . A few years later, Iceland became the first country to recognise the independence of Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania as they broke away from the USSR. Throughout the 1990s, the country expanded its international role and developed
445-549: A volcanic plateau with sand and lava fields , mountains and glaciers , and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands . Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate , despite a latitude just south of the Arctic Circle . Its latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate . According to the ancient manuscript Landnámabók ,
534-444: A 32 percent increase in Iceland's gross national income between 2002 and 2007. In 2003–2007, following the privatisation of the banking sector under the government of Davíð Oddsson , Iceland moved towards having an economy based on international investment banking and financial services. It was quickly becoming one of the most prosperous countries in the world, but was hit hard by a major financial crisis . The crisis resulted in
623-664: A convicted child sex offender. Snap elections in October 2017 brought to power a new coalition consisting of the Independence Party, the Progressive Party, and the Left-Green Movement , headed by Katrín Jakobsdóttir . After the 2021 parliamentary election , the new government was, just like the previous government, a tri-party coalition of the Independence Party, the Progressive Party, and
712-665: 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. Iceland prospered during the Second World War. The immediate post-war period was followed by substantial economic growth , driven by the industrialisation of the fishing industry and
801-470: A drift ice in the fjord he decided to name it "Ísland" (Iceland). Despite difficulties in finding food, he and his men stayed another year, this time in Borgarfjörður , but they headed back to Norway the following summer. Flóki would return much later and settle in what is now known as Flókadalur . It is said with accuracy that a Norwegian called Ingólfr travelled from there [Norway] to Iceland for
890-465: A famine that killed nearly a quarter of the island's population. In addition, the eruption caused dust clouds and haze to appear over most of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa for several months afterwards, and affected climates in other areas. Iceland has many geysers , including Geysir , from which the English word is derived, and the famous Strokkur , which erupts every 8–10 minutes. After
979-603: A foreign policy orientated towards humanitarian and peacekeeping causes. To that end, Iceland provided aid and expertise to various NATO-led interventions in Bosnia , Kosovo , and Iraq . Iceland joined the European Economic Area in 1994, after which the economy was greatly diversified and liberalised. International economic relations increased further after 2001 when Iceland's newly deregulated banks began to raise great amounts of external debt , contributing to
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#17327904448471068-439: A full circle, circumnavigating the island and establishing that the landmass in question was indeed an island. He departed the following summer, never to return but not before giving the island a new name – Garðarshólmur (literally, Garðar's Island). One of his men, Náttfari , decided to stay behind with two slaves. Náttfari settled in what is now known as Náttfaravík, close to Skjálfandi . Landnámabók maintains that Náttfari
1157-725: A fully sovereign and independent state in a personal union with Denmark. The Government of Iceland established an embassy in Copenhagen and requested that Denmark carry out on its behalf certain defence and foreign affairs matters, subject to consultation with the Althing. Danish embassies around the world displayed two coats of arms and two flags: those of the Kingdom of Denmark and those of the Kingdom of Iceland . Iceland's legal position became comparable to those of countries belonging to
1246-470: A low- silica lava associated with effusive volcanism as has occurred also in Hawaii . Iceland, however, has a variety of volcanic types (composite and fissure), many producing more evolved lavas such as rhyolite and andesite . Iceland has hundreds of volcanoes with about 30 active volcanic systems. Surtsey , one of the youngest islands in the world, is part of Iceland. Named after Surtr , it rose above
1335-660: A name that the Norsemen used for the Irish. Ingólfr was said to have settled a large part of southwestern Iceland, although after his settlement nothing more was known of him. His son, Þorsteinn Ingólfsson, was a major chieftain and was said to have founded the Kjalarnesþing [ is ] , the first thing , or parliament, in Iceland. It was a forerunner of the Althingi . As winter approached, Ingólfur's slaves found
1424-406: A phase of inactivity, Geysir started erupting again after a series of earthquakes in 2000 . Geysir has since grown quieter and does not erupt often. With the widespread availability of geothermal power and the harnessing of many rivers and waterfalls for hydroelectricity , most residents have access to inexpensive hot water, heating, and electricity. The island is composed primarily of basalt ,
1513-641: A popular holiday destination. In 2016, Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson resigned after being implicated in the Panama Papers scandal. Early elections in 2016 resulted in a right-wing coalition government of the Independence Party , the Reform Party and Bright Future . This government fell when Bright Future quit the coalition due to a scandal involving then-Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson 's father's letter of support for
1602-429: A republic in 1944, ending the remaining formal ties to Denmark. Although the Althing was suspended from 1799 to 1845, Iceland nevertheless has a claim to sustaining one of the world's longest-running parliaments. Until the 20th century, Iceland relied largely on subsistence fishing and agriculture. Industrialization of the fisheries and Marshall Plan aid after World War II brought prosperity, and Iceland became one of
1691-429: A short period of time, but gave the country a name: Snæland (Land of Snow). He was followed by the viking explorer Garðar Svavarsson , who was the first to stay over winter. At some time around 860, a storm pushed his ship far to the north until he reached the eastern coast of Iceland. Garðar approached the island from the east, sailed westward along the coast and then up north, building a house in Húsavík . He completed
1780-431: A smaller proportion of the modern population. Though the notion that population pressure drove migration to Iceland remains unsupported in the academic literature, a number of reasons have been offered for the settlement of Iceland: Written sources say some settlers took land freely, others bought lands from earlier settlers, some were gifted land by earlier settlers, and that some settlers took lands from others through
1869-489: A society where subsistence depended almost entirely on agriculture. The Black Death swept Iceland twice, first in 1402–1404 and again in 1494–1495. The former outbreak killed 50% to 60% of the population, and the latter 30% to 50%. Around the middle of the 16th century, as part of the Protestant Reformation , King Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranism on all his subjects. Jón Arason ,
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#17327904448471958-566: Is a sitka spruce planted in 1949 in Kirkjubæjarklaustur ; it was measured at 25.2 m (83 ft) in 2013. Algae such as Chondrus crispus , Phyllphora truncata and Phyllophora crispa and others have been recorded from Iceland. The only native land mammal when humans arrived was the Arctic fox , which came to the island at the end of the ice age, walking over the frozen sea. On rare occasions, bats have been carried to
2047-501: Is also where most settlements are situated. The island's interior, the Highlands of Iceland , is a cold and uninhabitable combination of sand, mountains, and lava fields . The major towns are the capital city of Reykjavík , along with its outlying towns of Kópavogur , Hafnarfjörður , and Garðabær , nearby Reykjanesbær where the international airport is located, and the town of Akureyri in northern Iceland. The island of Grímsey on
2136-420: Is based on radiocarbon dating evidence from Vestmannaeyjar off the southern coast of Iceland, the island was first settled by Norsemen as early as the end of the sixth century or in the seventh century. The dated material was found under a layer of tephra (volcanic fragments), called the 'Settlement Layer', left by an eruption dated through ice core analysis to about 871. However, doubts have been raised about
2225-460: Is closer to continental Europe than to mainland North America, although it is closest to Greenland (290 kilometres; 155 nautical miles), an island of North America. Iceland is generally included in Europe for geographical, historical, political, cultural, linguistic and practical reasons. Geologically, the island includes parts of both continental plates. The closest bodies of land in Europe are
2314-515: Is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the region's westernmost and most sparsely populated country . Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík , which is home to about 36% of the country's roughly 380,000 residents (excluding nearby towns/suburbs which are separate municipalities). The official language of the country is Icelandic . Iceland is on a rift between tectonic plates , and its geologic activity includes geysers and frequent volcanic eruptions . The interior consists of
2403-478: Is low compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide). Iceland is essentially free of mosquitoes . Settlement of Iceland The settlement of Iceland ( Icelandic : landnámsöld [ˈlantˌnaumsˌœlt] ) is generally believed to have begun in the second half of the ninth century, when Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic . The reasons for
2492-463: Is one of the largest longhouses ever found in Iceland and may date to as early as 800. Bjarni F. Einarsson, the head of the archaeological team which excavated the site, believes that the older longhouse was used as a summer outpost by Scandinavians. In archaeologist Orri Vésteinsson's view, there was probably a period of seasonal settlement of the island before permanent settlements were established. The Íslendingabók of Ari Thorgilsson claims that
2581-593: Is the surface expression of the Iceland Plateau , a large igneous province forming as a result of volcanism from the Iceland hotspot and along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge , the latter of which runs right through it. This means that the island is highly geologically active with many volcanoes including Hekla , Eldgjá , Herðubreið , and Eldfell . The volcanic eruption of Laki in 1783–1784 caused
2670-422: Is usually classified as being within. In this context its most recent eruption would be 3600 years ago, and the earliest eruption after the last ice age 10,200 years ago. There are at least three lava units deposited between 6000 and 9000 years BP , Straddling the Mid-Atlantic Ridge , the lava fields from Skjaldbreiður have been torn and twisted over the millennia, forming a multitude of fissures and rifts inside
2759-532: The Althing , one of the world's oldest functioning legislative assemblies. After a period of civil strife , Iceland acceded to Norwegian rule in the 13th century. In 1397, Iceland followed Norway's integration into the Kalmar Union along with the kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden, coming under de facto Danish rule upon its dissolution in 1523. The Danish kingdom introduced Lutheranism by force in 1550, and
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2848-463: The Boreal Kingdom . Plantlife consists mainly of grassland, which is regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Iceland is the northern birch ( Betula pubescens ), which formerly formed forests over much of Iceland, along with aspens ( Populus tremula ), rowans ( Sorbus aucuparia ), common junipers ( Juniperus communis ), and other smaller trees, mainly willows. When
2937-602: The Faroe Islands (420 km; 225 nmi); Jan Mayen Island (570 km; 310 nmi); Shetland and the Outer Hebrides , both about 740 km (400 nmi); and the Scottish mainland and Orkney , both about 750 km (405 nmi). The nearest part of Continental Europe is mainland Norway, about 970 km (525 nmi) away, while mainland North America is 2,070 km (1,120 nmi) away, at
3026-517: The Icelandic Commonwealth period is considered to begin. Archeological evidence shows, however, "that immigrants continued to arrive in Iceland throughout the 10th century". The authors of one study speculate that "continued immigration may have been needed to sustain the population". Landnámabók claims that the first Norseman to rest his feet on Icelandic soil was a viking by the name of Naddoddr . Naddoddr stayed for only
3115-589: 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 (39,000 sq mi) is affected by soil erosion; 18,000 km (6,900 sq mi) is affected to a degree serious enough to make the land useless. Only a few small birch stands now exist in isolated reserves. The Icelandic Forest Service and other forestry groups promote large-scale reforestation in
3204-529: The Mid-Atlantic Ridge , a ridge along which the oceanic crust spreads and forms new crust. This part of the mid-ocean ridge is located above a mantle plume, causing Iceland to be subaerial (above the surface of the sea). The ridge marks the boundary between the Eurasian and North American Plates , and Iceland was created by rifting and accretion through volcanism along the ridge. Many fjords punctuate Iceland's 4,970-km-long (3,088-mi) coastline, which
3293-704: The Treaty of Kiel formally ceded Iceland to Denmark in 1814. Influenced by ideals of nationalism after the French Revolution , Iceland's struggle for independence took form and culminated in the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union in 1918, with the establishment of the Kingdom of Iceland , sharing through a personal union the incumbent monarch of Denmark . During the occupation of Denmark in World War II, Iceland voted overwhelmingly to become
3382-463: The Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. Lakes and glaciers cover 14.3% of its surface; only 23% is vegetated. The largest lakes are Þórisvatn reservoir: 83–88 km (32–34 sq mi) and Þingvallavatn : 82 km (32 sq mi); other important lakes include Lagarfljót and Mývatn . Jökulsárlón is the deepest lake, at 248 m (814 ft). Geologically, Iceland is part of
3471-534: The settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD, when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the island's first permanent settler. In the following centuries, Norwegians , and to a lesser extent other Scandinavians , immigrated to Iceland, bringing with them thralls (i.e., slaves or serfs) of Gaelic origin. The island was governed as an independent commonwealth under the native parliament,
3560-448: The Þingvellir National Park , the best known of which are Silfra , Almannagjá [ˈalˌmanːaˌcauː] , Hrafnagjá [ˈr̥apnaˌcauː] and Flosagjá [ˈflɔːsaˌcauː] . Iceland Iceland ( Icelandic : Ísland , pronounced [ˈistlant] ) is a Nordic island country between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans , on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe . It
3649-565: The 'Settlement Layer' and thus must date to before 870. A cabin in Hafnir was abandoned between 770 and 880 CE. It is thought to have been a hunting and fishing outpost only inhabited part of the year, but it is not known whether it was built by people from Scandinavia, Ireland or Scotland. Two longhouses built consecutively on the same site in Stöð near the village of Stöðvarfjörður in eastern Iceland have been excavated since 2015. The older of these
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3738-619: The 1850s under the leadership of Jón Sigurðsson , based on the burgeoning Icelandic nationalism inspired by the Fjölnismenn and other Danish-educated Icelandic intellectuals. In 1874, Denmark granted Iceland a constitution and limited home rule. This was expanded in 1904, and Hannes Hafstein served as the first Minister for Iceland in the Danish cabinet. The Danish–Icelandic Act of Union , an agreement with Denmark signed on 1 December 1918 and valid for 25 years, recognised Iceland as
3827-621: The Arctic Circle contains the northernmost habitation of Iceland, whereas Kolbeinsey contains the northernmost point of Iceland. Iceland has three national parks : Vatnajökull National Park , Snæfellsjökull National Park , and Þingvellir National Park . The country is considered a "strong performer" in environmental protection, having been ranked 13th in Yale University 's Environmental Performance Index of 2012. A geologically young land at 16 to 18 million years old, Iceland
3916-644: The Commonwealth of Nations, such as Canada, whose sovereign is King Charles III . During World War II, Iceland joined Denmark in asserting neutrality. After the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, the Althing replaced the King with a regent and declared that the Icelandic government would take control of its own defence and foreign affairs. A month later, British armed forces conducted Operation Fork ,
4005-548: The Icelandic Age of Settlement is considered to have lasted from 874 to 930, at which point most of the island had been claimed and Alþingi (Althingi), the assembly of the Icelandic Commonwealth , was founded at Þingvellir (Thingvellir). Iceland is thus the second-to-last major land mass to be permanently settled by humans ( Madagascar and New Zealand being colonized in the mid-first millennium and thirteenth century, respectively). According to one hypothesis, which
4094-569: The Icelandic national assembly, the Alþing was founded in 930. The volcano summit is at 1,066 m (3,497 ft), and its crater measures roughly 300 m (980 ft) in diameter. The Skjaldbreiður lava shield covers 170 km (66 sq mi) with a volume of about 13 km (3.1 cu mi). and is sometimes considered as a separate southern part of the Oddnýjarhnjúkur-Langjökull volcanic system which it
4183-699: The Left-Green Movement, headed by Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir. In April 2024, Bjarni Benediktsson of the Independence party succeeded Katrín Jakobsdóttir as prime minister. Iceland is at the juncture of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The main island is entirely south of the Arctic Circle , which passes through the small Icelandic island of Grímsey off the main island's northern coast. The country lies between latitudes 63 and 68°N , and longitudes 25 and 13°W . Iceland
4272-591: The Norse settlers encountered Gaelic monks, called papar by the Norsemen, from a Hiberno-Scottish mission when they arrived in Iceland. There is some archaeological evidence for a monastic settlement from Ireland at Kverkarhellir cave, on the Seljaland farm in southern Iceland. Sediment deposits indicate people lived there around 800, and crosses consistent with the Hiberno-Scottish style were carved in
4361-700: The US Marshall Plan programme, through which Icelanders received the most aid per capita of any European country (at US$ 209, with the war-ravaged Netherlands a distant second at US$ 109). Vigdís Finnbogadóttir assumed Iceland's presidency on 1 August 1980, making her the first elected female head of state in the world. The 1970s were marked by the Cod Wars —several disputes with the United Kingdom over Iceland's extension of its fishing limits to 200 nmi (370 km) offshore. Iceland hosted
4450-455: The accuracy of this dating because of the possible effect of volcanic carbon dioxide on the dating process. According to Magnús Stefánsson, the attribution of this material to a sixth-to-seventh-century settlement should be rejected. Other archaeological sites have been found which predate the traditionally accepted date of 874 for the earliest settlement of the island. Some dwellings were excavated in Reykjavík in 1971–73 which were found below
4539-566: The air and then returned to the ship. However, the third flew in front of the ship and they followed its direction to Iceland. He landed in Vatnsfjörður in the Westfjords after passing what is now Reykjavík . One of his men, Faxi, remarked that they seemed to have found great land—the bay facing Reykjavík is therefore known as Faxaflói . A harsh winter caused all of Flóki's cattle to die—he cursed this cold country, and when he spotted
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#17327904448474628-475: The basis of Íslendingabók by Ari Þorgilsson , and Landnámabók , histories dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and providing a wealth of detail about the settlement, the years 870 and 874 have traditionally been considered the first years of settlement. However, these sources are largely unreliable in the details they provide about the settlement, and recent research focuses more heavily on archaeological and genetic evidence. Traditionally,
4717-437: The country had been "fully settled" by 930. Correspondingly, Landnámabók suggests that within about sixty years, all the usable land had been taken; it mentions 1,500 farm and place names, and more than 3,500 people, arranged in a geographical fashion. In the periodisation of Icelandic history, therefore, the age of settlement is considered to have ended in the year 930 with the establishment of Alþingi ; at this point
4806-575: The country's climate continued to grow colder, resulting in mass emigration to the New World , particularly to the region of Gimli , Manitoba in Canada, which was sometimes referred to as New Iceland . About 15,000 people emigrated, out of a total population of 70,000. A national consciousness arose in the first half of the 19th century, inspired by romantic and nationalist ideas from mainland Europe. An Icelandic independence movement took shape in
4895-416: The country's total exports. Birds, especially seabirds, are an important part of Iceland's animal life. Atlantic puffins , skuas , and black-legged kittiwakes nest on its sea cliffs. Commercial whaling is practised intermittently along with scientific whale hunts. Whale watching has become an important part of Iceland's economy since 1997. Around 1,300 species of insects are known in Iceland. This
4984-417: The country. Due to the reforestation efforts, the forest cover of Iceland increased six-fold since the 1990s. This helps to offset carbon emissions, prevent sand storms and increase the productivity of farms. 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 . The tallest tree in Iceland
5073-527: The eruption, known as the Mist Hardships ( Icelandic : Móðuharðindin ), over half of all livestock in the country died. Around a quarter of the population starved to death in the ensuing famine . In 1814, following the Napoleonic Wars , Denmark-Norway was broken up into two separate kingdoms via the Treaty of Kiel , but Iceland remained a Danish dependency. Throughout the 19th century,
5162-588: The events known locally as the Turkish Abductions , in which hundreds of residents were taken into slavery in North Africa and dozens killed; this was the only invasion in Icelandic history to have casualties. The 1707–08 Iceland smallpox epidemic is estimated to have killed a quarter to a third of the population. In 1783 the Laki volcano erupted, with devastating effects. In the years following
5251-415: The first permanent residents of Iceland to be documented. The Norwegian-Norse chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson built his homestead in present-day Reykjavík in 874. Ingólfr was followed by many other emigrant settlers, largely Scandinavians and their thralls , many of whom were Irish or Scottish . By 930, most arable land on the island had been claimed; the Althing , a legislative and judicial assembly
5340-562: The first time when Haraldr the Fine-Haired was sixteen years old, and a second time a few years later; he settled in the south in Reykjarvík. Another Norseman, by the name of Ingólfur Arnarson , had instigated a blood feud in his homeland, Norway. He and his foster-brother Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson went on an exploratory expedition to Iceland, and stayed over winter in what is now Álftafjörður . A few years later they returned to settle
5429-471: The greatest migration from Iceland since 1887, with a net emigration of 5,000 people in 2009. Iceland's economy stabilised under the government of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and grew by 1.6% in 2012. The centre-right Independence Party was returned to power in coalition with the Progressive Party in the 2013 election. In the following years, Iceland saw a surge in tourism as the country became
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#17327904448475518-482: The invasion and occupation of the country, violating Icelandic neutrality . In 1941, the Government of Iceland, friendly to Britain, invited the then-neutral United States to take over its defence so that Britain could use its troops elsewhere. On 31 December 1943, the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union expired after 25 years. Beginning on 20 May 1944, Icelanders voted in a four-day plebiscite on whether to terminate
5607-549: The island of Thule . They said that darkness reigned during winter but that the summers were bright enough to pick lice from one's clothing, but the veracity of this source may be questioned. Additionally, Iceland is only about 450 kilometres from the Faroes , which had been visited by Irish monks in the sixth century, and settled by the Norse around 650. Written sources consider the age of settlement in Iceland to have begun with settlement by Ingólfr Arnarson around 874, for he
5696-527: 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". 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. Deforestation , climatic deterioration during
5785-440: The island was then called Garðarshólmur, which means "Garðar's Isle". Then came a Viking named Flóki Vilgerðarson ; his daughter drowned en route, then his livestock starved to death. The sagas say that the rather despondent Flóki climbed a mountain and saw a fjord ( Arnarfjörður ) full of icebergs, which led him to give the island its new and present name. The notion that Iceland's Viking settlers chose that name to discourage
5874-621: The island with the winds, but they are not able to breed there. No native or free-living reptiles or amphibians are on the island. The animals of Iceland include the Icelandic sheep , cattle , chickens , goats , the sturdy Icelandic horse , and the Icelandic Sheepdog , all descendants of animals imported by Europeans. Wild mammals include the Arctic fox, mink , mice, rats, rabbits, and reindeer . Polar bears occasionally visit
5963-415: The island, travelling from Greenland on icebergs, but no Icelandic populations exist. In June 2008, two polar bears arrived in the same month. Marine mammals include the grey seal ( Halichoerus grypus ) and harbour seal ( Phoca vitulina ). Many species of fish live in the ocean waters surrounding Iceland, and the fishing industry is a major part of Iceland's economy, accounting for roughly half of
6052-527: The land with their men. When they approached the island, Ingólfur cast his high seat pillars overboard and swore that he would settle where they drifted to shore. He then sent his slaves Vífill and Karli to search for the pillars. In the meantime, Hjörleifr had been murdered by his Irish slaves. Ingólfr hunted them down and killed them in the Westman Islands . The islands got their name from that event, with westmen (Old Norse: vestmenn ) being
6141-437: The last Catholic bishop of Hólar , was beheaded in 1550 along with two of his sons. The country subsequently became officially Lutheran, and Lutheranism has since remained the dominant religion. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Denmark imposed harsh trade restrictions on Iceland. Natural disasters, including volcanic eruptions and disease, contributed to a decreasing population. In the summer of 1627, Barbary Pirates committed
6230-548: The migration are uncertain: later in the Middle Ages Icelanders themselves tended to cite civil strife brought about by the ambitions of the Norwegian king Harald I of Norway , but modern historians focus on deeper factors, such as a shortage of arable land in Scandinavia . Unlike Great Britain and Ireland, Iceland was unsettled land and could be claimed without conflict with existing inhabitants. On
6319-481: The northeastern hinterland. The temperature records for Reykjavík are 26.2 °C (79.2 °F) on 30 July 2008, and −24.5 °C (−12.1 °F) on 21 January 1918. The entire country is in a single ecoregion , the Iceland boreal birch forests and alpine tundra . Some areas are covered by glaciers . Phytogeographically , Iceland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within
6408-410: The northern tip of Labrador . Iceland is the world's 18th-largest island , and Europe's second-largest island after Great Britain and before Ireland. The main island covers 101,826 km (39,315 sq mi), but the entire country is 103,000 km (40,000 sq mi) in size, of which 62.7% is tundra . Iceland contains about 30 minor islands, including the lightly populated Grímsey and
6497-496: The number of initial settlers ranging between 311 and 436. While the written sources emphasise settlement from Norway, genetic evidence shows that the founder population of Iceland came from Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia: studies of mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomes indicate that 62% of Icelanders' matrilineal ancestry derives from Scotland and Ireland (with most of the rest being from Scandinavia), while 75% of their patrilineal ancestry derives from Scandinavia (with most of
6586-401: The ocean in a series of volcanic eruptions between 8 November 1963 and 5 June 1968. Only scientists researching the growth of new life are allowed to visit the island. The country has around 30 active volcanic systems. Within each are volcano-tectonic fissure systems and many, but not all of them, also have at least one central volcano (mostly in the form of a stratovolcano , sometimes of
6675-517: The personal union with Denmark, abolish the monarchy, and establish a republic. The vote was 97% to end the union, and 95% in favour of the new republican constitution. Iceland formally became a republic on 17 June 1944, with Sveinn Björnsson as its first president. 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,
6764-533: The pillars by Arnarhvoll . When summer came, he built a farmstead in Reykjavík and claimed all the land west of the rivers of Ölfusá , Öxará and Brynjudalsá . His slave Karli did not care for the location, and said to Ingólfur: "How ill that we should pass good land, to settle in this remote peninsula." Prior to the deforestation of Iceland in the Middle Ages , some 40% of the land was forested. Today,
6853-536: The rest being from the Irish and British Isles). Archaeogenetic evidence suggests that the actual founding population included a higher proportion again of settlers from the Irish and British Isles: one study found that the mean Norse ancestry among Iceland's settlers was 56%, whereas in the current population the figure was 70%. It is thought likely that most of the settlers from Ireland and Scotland came as slaves, and therefore reproduced less successfully than higher-status settlers from Scandinavia, making them ancestors of
6942-582: The settlement of their verdant isle is most likely a myth. According to both Landnámabók and Íslendingabók , monks known as the Papar lived in Iceland before Scandinavian settlers arrived, possibly members of a Hiberno-Scottish mission . An archaeological excavation has revealed the ruins of a cabin in Hafnir on the Reykjanes peninsula . Carbon dating indicates that it was abandoned sometime between 770 and 880. In 2016, archaeologists uncovered
7031-608: The signing of the Old Covenant in 1262, which ended the Commonwealth and brought Iceland under the Norwegian crown. Possession of Iceland passed from the Kingdom of Norway (872–1397) to the Kalmar Union in 1415, when the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden were united. After the break-up of the union in 1523, it remained a Norwegian dependency, as a part of Denmark–Norway . Infertile soil, volcanic eruptions, deforestation, and an unforgiving climate made for harsh life in
7120-480: The smallest population of any NATO member and is the only one with no standing army , possessing only a lightly armed coast guard . The Sagas of Icelanders say that a Norwegian named Naddodd (or Naddador) was the first Norseman to reach Iceland; in the ninth century, he named it Snæland or "Snowland" because it was snowing. Following Naddodd, the Swede Garðar Svavarsson arrived, and so
7209-463: 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. The highest air temperature recorded was 30.5 °C (86.9 °F) on 22 June 1939 at Teigarhorn on the southeastern coast. The lowest was −38 °C (−36.4 °F) on 22 January 1918 at Grímsstaðir and Möðrudalur in
7298-551: The use of force or threat of force. Lands were likely not rented during the Age of settlement. Medievalist Hans Kuhn argued that lands were given away or taken freely because earlier settlers had no need for such extensive lands. Historian Gunnar Karlsson notes that it could be rational for earlier settlers to encourage new settlers to settle lands nearby so as to ease maintenance of cattle and slaves, and as insurance in times of crisis. Ari Thorgilsson claims in Íslendingabók that
7387-457: The wall of a nearby cave. Ari Thorgilsson writes that the monks left upon the arrival of the Norsemen since they did not want to live with non-Christians. The oldest known source which mentions the name "Iceland" is an eleventh-century rune carving from Gotland . There is a possible early mention of Iceland in the book De mensura orbis terrae by the Irish monk Dicuil , dating to 825. Dicuil claimed to have met some monks who had lived on
7476-550: 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. The climate varies between different parts of the island. Generally speaking,
7565-680: The world's wealthiest and most developed nations. In 1994 it became a part of the European Economic Area , further diversifying its economy into sectors such as finance, biotechnology, and manufacturing . Iceland has a market economy with relatively low taxes , compared to other OECD countries, as well as the highest trade union membership in the world . It maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education . Iceland ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, education, protection of civil liberties, government transparency, and economic freedom. It has
7654-515: Was adopted by consensus around 999–1000, although Norse paganism persisted among segments of the population for some years afterward. The Icelandic Commonwealth lasted until the 13th century when the political system devised by the original settlers proved unable to cope with the increasing power of Icelandic chieftains. The internal struggles and civil strife of the Age of the Sturlungs led to
7743-484: Was initiated to regulate the Icelandic Commonwealth . The lack of arable land also served as an impetus to the settlement of Greenland starting in 986. The period of these early settlements coincided with the Medieval Warm Period , when temperatures were similar to those of the early 20th century. At this time about 25% of Iceland was covered with forest, compared to 1% in the present day. Christianity
7832-589: Was not a permanent settler. The next Norseman to arrive in Iceland was named Flóki Vilgerðarson , but the year of his arrival is not clear. According to the story told in Landnámabók , he took three ravens to help him find his way. Thus, he was nicknamed Raven-Flóki (Icelandic: Hrafna-Flóki ). Flóki set his ravens free near the Faroe Islands. The first raven flew back to the Faroes. The second flew up in
7921-424: Was the first to sail to Iceland with the purpose of settling the land. Archaeological evidence shows that extensive human settlement of the island indeed began at this time, and "that the whole country was occupied within a couple of decades towards the end of the ninth century." Estimates of the number of people who migrated to the country during the Age of Settlement range between 4,300 and 24,000, with estimates of
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