Europe Travel Guides

Geography

Iceland, the second largest island in Europe, boils and splutters in the Atlantic Ocean northwest of Scotland, west of Norway and southeast of Greenland. The main island, which stretches 500km (310mi) east to west and 300km (186mi) north to south, is characterised by desert plateaus, sandy deltas, volcanoes, lava fields, and glacial icecaps. Over half the country is above 400m (1300ft), with the highest point, Hvannadalshnúkur, rising 2119m (6952ft). Only 21% of the land, all near the coast, is considered arable and habitable. The bulk of Iceland's population and agriculture is concentrated in the southwest between Reykjavík and Vík.

Iceland is a relatively young land mass, subject to the periodic rumbling of volcanic activity. Earthquakes are as exciting as breakfast here, with people only bothering to tip their woolly hats to proper, land-sculpting explosions.