General Information

After centuries of Danish rule, Iceland became an independent Republic in 1944. The Icelanders of today number around 285,000 of whom about half live in the capital area and surrounds. The remainder are distributed around the coastal plains, valleys and fjords, where fishing and farming are the main economic activities.

The Icelanders are a friendly and welcoming nations, enormously proud of their country and eager to show it to visitors. The Icelandic language has changed little in the last 700 years, but English is widely understood and spoken, especially by younger people.

Geologically, Iceland is a young country, still in the making. Most active volcanoes and geothermal areas are within the main volcanic zone, which runs SW-NE through the island. The uninhabited interior is a mountainous plateau with ice caps, bordered by vast glacial outwash plains. The main farming areas are around the coast, particularly, in the south and west, while the northern and eastern fjords, sculpted by Ice Age glaciers, are more suited to fishing.

Iceland is richer in hot springs than possibly any other country in the world. Fifteen major areas offer visitors an unparalleled display of mud pools, steam vents, sulphur pits, hot springs and, at the best known of all, Geysir, the chance to see a spouting geyser. Steam is used to generate power and many hot springs are tapped for domestic and industrial use.