ICELAND, LAND OF FROST AND FIRE ^ 



By ViGFUS EiNABSSON 



Ministry of Industries and Communications, Iceland 



[With 12 plates] 



Remote from all other countries, in the middle of the Atlantic 

 Ocean, a stepping stone between the New and Old World, lies Ice- 

 land. It is the largest island in Europe after Britain, having an 

 area of 40,000 square miles. 



Iceland is a very mountainous country, consisting of basalt lava 

 and other volcanic rock, with, however, a large area of lowlands, espe- 

 cially in the south and the southwest. Otherwise there is very little 

 lowland, except at the heads of the fjords and in the great many 

 valleys which stretch from the numerous fjords and bays up into the 

 highlands. Except for some rounded hills and shallow depressions, 

 the central part of the country is an unbroken plateau, 1,100 to 2,600 

 feet high. In the interior, a great deal of the territory, especially 

 the higher mountains, is covered with a cap of eternal snow. 



Iceland is the most volcanic country in the world, and is, perhaps, 

 most widely known for her volcanoes. Volcanic signs can be seen 

 everywhere. Not only the mountains but great plains are covered 

 with lava, often like a furious sea which has suddenly become stilled. 

 This is something more than a simile, because the lava was once a 

 roaring current of boiling rock. Over a hundred eruptions have 

 been recorded since the country was first inhabited. In later years, 

 however, volcanic eruptions have not been frequent, and most of 

 them have taken place in the center of the country far from human 

 habitation. 



The most famous of all volcanoes in Iceland is Hekla, a familiar 

 name in every country. In former times this mountain was con- 

 sidered unmistakable proof of the existence of Hell. For several 

 centuries people refrained from climbing Mount Hekla because it 

 was believed to be the chimney of the dark abode underneath, but 

 during later years it has become quite popular. A return trip to the 



1 Reprinted by permission from the Canadian Geographical Journal, vol. 21, No. 4, 

 October 1940. 



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