ICELAND: Country of extreme natural beauty

Iceland, Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon during a night with aurora borealis seen from east beach, from area of Thorsmork

Author: Moyan Brenn from Anzio, Italy . Source: commons.wikimedia.org

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Why Iceland possesses an extremely beautiful nature in the world ?

these are the causes …

1) The situation:

Iceland is an island state bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. Its closest neighbors are: Greenland, 287 km to the northwest, and the Faroe Islands, 420 km to the southeast. Covering an area of 103,000 km2.

The main island is located a few kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. The island of Grímsey is located on the Arctic Circle, and the uninhabited island of Kolbeinsey is the northernmost point of Iceland.

Source: countryreports.org

2) Geology:

From a point of view of plate tectonics, the north-western part of Iceland is on the American plate and the southeast part is on the Eurasian plate. Moreover, a hot spot would be just below Iceland, more precisely under the Vatnajökull massif. This unique situation generates an important volcanic and geothermal activity on the island, located mainly along this graben, where the magma is closest to the surface.

Overview of the 2nd fissure on Fimmvörðuháls, close to Eyjafjallajökull, as the lava flows down towards the north, turning snow into steam.

Author: Boaworm. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Strokkur, a geysir in Iceland

Author: Chris, from Falmouth, UK. Source: fr.m.wikipedia.org

Iceland, Geyser

Author: LalouBLue. Source: pixabay.com

The boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates

Author: Scoundrelgeo. Source: en.wikipedia.org

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3) Topography:

Iceland has a rather important relief. The center of the island (the highlands of Iceland) constitutes a vast plateau of altitude more than 500 m, and the coasts are often mountainous, cut out of fjords (in particular the western fjords region and the ‘ Austurland). The highest point of the island is the Hvannadalshnjúkur volcano, to the southeast, with an altitude of 2,109.6 m.

Approximately 10% of the island is covered by glaciers. These glaciers feed several large glacial rivers, with the longest Þjórsá (230 km) and the largest Ölfusá (423 m3 / s)

Víti, the geothermal lake at the Askja caldera, Iceland.

Author: Boaworm. Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Iceland,  Nature

Author: LalouBLue. Source: pixabay.com

Kerlingarfjoll, Iceland

Author: LalouBLue. Source: pixabay.com

Hverir and Námafjall (Mine Mountain)

Author: Hansueli Krapf. Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Aerial View of Viti Crater

author: Hansueli Krapf. Source: commons.wikimedia.org

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4) Climate:

The island is almost totally located south of the Arctic Circle and is therefore very short daylight in winter, and very short nights in summer. Only the small island of Grímsey, which is the northernmost inhabited place of Iceland, is crossed by the Arctic Circle.Iceland has a climate of tundra subjected to cold polar winds. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, its southern and western coasts enjoy a much milder temperature in winter than New York22. Temperatures never get much higher than 0 ° C

  Due to the accelerated melting of glaciers in the context of global warming, the island has been undergoing a rapid rise in its soil for 30 years. of local climate changes sufficient to melt ice at an accelerated rate. Soil elevation is not perfectly homogeneous: some parts of the South Central of the island rise by 35 mm / year, a speed that surprises researchers.                         [wikipedia.org]

Glacier Hoffellsjökull
En raison du changement climatique, le Glacier Hoffellsjökull a reculé à une distance considérable et un lac glaciaire profond se développe rapidement dans la dépression laissée derrière.

Author: cheryl strahl. Source: flickr.com

Coast Atlantic Ocean, Iceland

Source: maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com

Iceland, Waterfall Godafoss

Author: photovicky.Source: pixabay.com

Iceland, Thor Marque River

Author: falco. Source: pixabay.com