When you think of Iceland, you think of ice… but, remarkably, Iceland is not covered by ice the way Greenland is. This island nation lies in the Arctic region of Northern Europe. Iceland was discovered by the Vikings, a seafaring race of people.
The Scandinavians settled there in AD 874. Iceland was later ruled by the Norwegians and Danes, until it became an independent nation in 1918 and a republic in 1944. Iceland has lava fields, mountains, and glaciers. In some places, the ice on the glaciers is 1000 metres thick!
The island has more than 20 active volcanoes. There are many waterfalls, hot springs, mud pools, and geothermal vents, where the heat of the Earth comes out from the earth surface.
The energy of the Iceland volcanoes and vents is used to supply heating to around 85 per cent of all households. There are also farmlands where you will see many sheep, as they are the most common farm animals in Iceland. Puffins-remarkable looking seabirds – breed in large colonies on the cliffs facing the icy sea.
