Iceland

Iceland

Iceland Geography

• Iceland is an island about the size of Kentucky, USA. Iceland lies in the North Atlantic Ocean, it is east of Greenland, North of the United Kingdom, and also touches the Arctic Circle.

• Iceland is one of the most volcanic regions in the world. More than 13% of Iceland is covered by snowfields and glaciers. Most of the people though live in the 7% of the island that is made up of fertile coastland.

Iceland History

• Iceland was first settled by Vikings and their slaves from Norway. After they got there, word spread fast, and many Norwegian people seeking land to farm came to Iceland. Due to internal conflict Iceland was weakened and then became part of Norway through the Old Covenant. Near the 17th and 18th century because of some dissolution, Iceland fell under Denmark’s control. Finally on June 17, 1944, Iceland earned its freedom as a free country. Today Iceland is commonly known for its tourism earning the second most money on tourism than any other country. Today there are projected to be 321 thousand people living in Iceland.

Iceland Language

• Icelandic the language of Iceland. Is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of German languages.

• Icelandic is spoken by about 320,000 people living in Iceland, over 8,000 people in Denmark(3,000 are students), by 5,000 people in the USA, and by 1,400 people in Canada.

• Example in English they say (Good Morning) in Icelandic they say (gooan daginn).

Iceland Olympic History

Iceland Olympic History

• Iceland has competed in 34 Olympics winning 4 medals. Two silver and two bronze, all in the Summer Olympics.

• Iceland Winners(Vilhjalmur Einarsson in Mens Triple Jump) Silver. (Bjarni Frioriksson in Mens Half Heavyweight) Bronze. (Vala Flosadottir in Women’s Pole Vault) Bronze. Iceland’s Olympic Handball team also won a Silver in 2008.

Iceland Quick Facts

Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland.Hvannadalshnukur is the highest point in Iceland at 2,119mHelka is Iceland’s most active volcano.The last name of Icelanders comes from their father’s first name.In the last quarter of the 19th century 20% of Iceland emigrated to Canada. On average Iceland’s warmest month is August and Iceland’s coolest month is January.

Iceland: by Alec S.

Sources

• Wikipedia.org• www.infoplease.com• http://midatlantic.icelandair.com/• Mapsof.net• Wallsave.com• http://geography.about.com/