Location, population and size
Iceland is located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It‘s located 13-25° west of Greenwich and 63 - 66° north of equator. We follow on the Greenwich timeline. The population of Iceland was 319.368 on the 24th. of february 2009. Iceland is about 103.000 square km.
Capital
Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland on the south-west of the country. Fun places to visit in Reykjavík are the Reykjavík city-center, Laugarvegur wich is the main shopping street, the Pearl which is built on 5 hot water reservers, the Pearl is a resturant and has a beautiful view over Reykjavík city. The church Hallgrímskirkja is a beautiful church in the center of Reykjavík. Nauthólsvík is one of few white sanded beaches in Iceland and the sea is heated up for visitors. Blue lagoon is a natural spa just outside the capital area near Grindavik and has become the most popular destination for visitors in Iceland in a few years.
Geography
Iceland is the youngest country in Europe, the oldes part of the country is about 16 million years old. The country is still forming because we have eruption about every 4 years. Iceland has extensive volcanic and geothermal activity. About half of the land, which is of recent volcanic origin, consists of a mountainous lava desert and other wasteland. 11% is covered by about 20 glaciers. Vatnajökull is the largest one, it is about 8000 square km.
Highland and lowland
When we say highland we are usually talking about the places that are 400+ m high over sea. The highland is about 76% of all Iceland. It is very popular to visit beautifull places in the highland and even the glaciers. When we say lowland we are talking about the coast, the circle around the highlands. The lowland is where most people live, there don't live many people in the highlands. Both the highland and the lowland have a unique landscape.
Climate
The climate in Iceland is a maritime climate and is characterised by mild summers and winters thanks to the Gulfstream. Here we have various types of weather. In one day we can have sun, rain, wind and even snow sometimes, all before noon. In the south-east of Iceland we don´t have much snow, even if we are so close to the glacier. The climate is different in the north where there are no glaciers, there the winters are filled with snow and winter sports.
