A land still being made
Iceland is one of the youngest landmasses in Europe in geological terms, and it is still being formed. It sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are slowly moving apart, and above a hotspot of volcanic activity deep in the earth. That combination explains almost everything about its scenery.
The boundary between the plates is visible on land. At Þingvellir National Park, about an hour from Reykjavík, you can walk through a rift valley lined with cliffs and fissures. In the Silfra fissure in the park, visitors can snorkel or dive in extremely clear, cold glacial water in a crack between the two plates.
Volcanic activity is frequent. The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull sent an ash cloud across Europe that grounded flights for days. Since 2021, a series of eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula, south-west of Reykjavík, has brought lava back to an area that had been quiet for centuries. Eruptions are closely monitored, and the authorities close areas when necessary, so check official updates before visiting volcanic sites.
Glaciers cover around a tenth of the country. Vatnajökull in the south-east is the largest, and one of the largest ice caps in Europe; volcanoes lie beneath it, and eruptions under the ice can cause sudden floods. Its outlet glaciers feed lagoons such as Jökulsárlón, where icebergs float out towards the sea and wash up on the black sand beach nearby.
Hot water, waterfalls and light
Iceland's volcanic heat is not only a hazard but also a resource. The country uses it on a scale few other places can match, and it shapes daily life in ways visitors notice quickly.
Here are some of the details.
- Geothermal water heats the vast majority of homes in Iceland. In Reykjavík, hot water piped from geothermal sources sometimes carries a faint smell of sulphur, which is harmless.
- Almost all of Iceland's electricity comes from renewable sources, mainly hydroelectric power with geothermal plants making up most of the rest.
- The word geyser comes from Geysir, a hot spring in south-west Iceland. Geysir itself erupts only rarely now, but its neighbour Strokkur shoots water into the air every few minutes.
- Iceland has a huge number of waterfalls, fed by rain, snowmelt and glaciers. Gullfoss, Seljalandsfoss, which you can walk behind, Skógafoss and Dettifoss, one of the most powerful in Europe, are among the most visited.
- The mainland lies just south of the Arctic Circle; only the small island of Grímsey, off the north coast, actually crosses it. Even so, around midsummer the sun barely sets, and the nights stay light.
- In winter the days are short, but the long dark nights make Iceland one of the most popular places in Europe to look for the northern lights, usually from about September to April, on clear nights away from city lights.
Wildlife: what lives here and what does not
Iceland's isolation in the North Atlantic means it has relatively few land animals but rich bird and marine life. Some of its wildlife facts are often repeated because they are genuinely unusual.
Here is what to know.
- The Arctic fox is the only land mammal native to Iceland; it arrived long before people, probably across sea ice. Reindeer, mice and mink were all introduced by humans.
- Iceland is famously free of mosquitoes, although midges and other flies can be numerous near lakes in summer.
- Iceland is home to large colonies of Atlantic puffins, which nest on sea cliffs from roughly late spring to late summer. The Westman Islands and cliffs in the north-west and east are well-known places to see them.
- Icelandic horses are a distinct breed, small but strong. Iceland has long banned the import of horses to protect them from disease, so a horse that leaves the country cannot return. They are known for an extra smooth gait called the tölt.
- The waters around Iceland are rich feeding grounds for whales. Whale-watching trips run from Reykjavík and from Húsavík and Akureyri in the north, and are most popular in summer.
- Trees are scarce. The early settlers cut down much of the original birch woodland, and grazing stopped it from regrowing. Reforestation projects are slowly adding forests back.
History, language and names
Iceland was settled from the late ninth century onwards, mainly by people from Norway and their Celtic slaves and companions from the British Isles. Its early history is recorded in the sagas, prose stories written down in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
In 930, the settlers founded the Althing, a national assembly that met in the open air at Þingvellir. It is often described as one of the oldest parliaments in the world, and the modern Icelandic parliament still carries its name. Iceland became a fully independent republic in 1944.
Icelandic has changed relatively little over the centuries, so modern Icelanders can read the medieval sagas with less difficulty than English speakers face with texts from the same period. The language creates new words from its own roots rather than borrowing foreign ones, so a computer is a tölva, a blend of words meaning number and prophetess.
Most Icelanders do not have family surnames. Instead, they take a name based on a parent's first name: a son of Jón might be Jónsson, and a daughter Jónsdóttir. Because surnames are not shared by families, people are generally addressed by their first names, even in formal settings, and the national telephone directory has traditionally been organised by first name. New first names are checked by an official naming committee against the rules of the Icelandic language.
Everyday culture
Iceland is a small country, with a population of roughly 400,000, and well over half of its people live in and around Reykjavík. Reykjavík is the northernmost capital of a sovereign state in the world. Iceland has no standing army, though it is a member of NATO.
Public swimming pools, heated geothermally, are at the centre of social life, used year-round by all ages. Visitors are expected to follow the pool rules: shower thoroughly without a swimsuit before entering, using the communal showers. Staff take this seriously.
Christmas has some unusual traditions. Instead of one Father Christmas, Icelandic children are visited by thirteen Yule Lads, mischievous figures who arrive one by one in the days before Christmas. Books are a traditional Christmas gift, and the flood of new titles published in the autumn ahead of the season has its own name, Jólabókaflóð, the Christmas book flood.
Traditional food reflects a long history of preserving food through dark winters. In the midwinter festival of Þorrablót, people eat dishes such as fermented shark, known as hákarl, and dried fish. Everyday food today is more familiar, with excellent lamb, fish and the thick cultured dairy product skyr.
What it means for a visit
Iceland's landscapes are its main attraction, and they demand respect. Weather can change very quickly, and storms can close roads, so check road and weather conditions every day you drive. The highland F-roads are open only in summer and require a four-wheel-drive vehicle, and river crossings on them can be dangerous.
On the south coast, black sand beaches such as Reynisfjara are known for powerful, unpredictable waves that surge far up the sand without warning. Stay well back from the water's edge and never turn your back on the sea. Stay on marked paths at geothermal areas, where the ground can be thin and the water scalding.
Route 1, the Ring Road, circles the island in roughly 1,300 kilometres and is the backbone of most self-drive trips. Mobile coverage is good along most of it, though it can drop in remote fjords and the highlands. A travel eSIM gives you mobile data abroad, which helps with live road conditions, weather forecasts and aurora forecasts. Our Iceland travel guide covers the regions and the best time to visit in more detail.
Staying connected: Iceland eSIM.