Iceland is an island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. Lying on the constantly active geologic border between North America and Europe, Iceland is a land of vivid contrasts of climate, geography, and culture. Sparkling glaciers, such as Vatna Glacier (Vatnajökull), Europe’s largest, lie across its ruggedly beautiful mountain ranges; abundant hot geysers provide heat for many of the country’s homes and buildings and allow for hothouse agriculture year-round, and the offshore Gulf Stream provides a surprisingly mild climate for what is one of the northernmost inhabited places on the planet.
The capital, Reykjavík (“Bay of Smokes”) is the site of the island’s first farmstead and is a thriving city, handsome in aspect and cosmopolitan in outlook. Other major population centres are Akureyri, on the north-central coast; Hafnarfjordhur, on the southwestern coast; and Selfoss, in the southern lowlands.
