It is the northernmost capital city of a Sovereign State in the world and one of the smallest capitals of Europe. Located along the south western shores of the country, in the Faxa Bay area is, Reykjavik – the capital and the largest city of Iceland. It is the most sparsely populated and the westernmost country in Europe. km, Iceland is the 18 th largest island in the world and the 2 nd largest island in Europe. In alphabetical order, these municipalities are: Akrahreppur, Akraneskaupstadhur, Akureyrarkaupstadhur, Arneshreppur, Asahreppur, Blaskogabyggdh, Blonduosbaer, Bolungarvikurkaupstadhur, Borgarbyggdh, Borgarfjardharhreppur, Breidhdalshreppur, Dalabyggdh, Dalvikurbyggdh, Djupavogshreppur, Eyjafjardharsveit, Eyja-og Miklaholtshreppur, Fjallabyggdh, Fjardhabyggdh, Fljotsdalsheradh, Fljotsdalshreppur, Floahreppur, Gardhabaer, Grimsnes-og Grafningshreppur, Grindavikurbaer, Grundarfjardharbaer, Grytubakkahreppur, Hafnarfjardharkaupstadhur, Helgafellssveit, Horgarsveit, Hrunamannahreppur, Hunathing Vestra, Hunavatnshreppur, Hvalfjardharsveit, Hveragerdhisbaer, Isafjardharbaer, Kaldrananeshreppur, Kjosarhreppur, Kopavogsbaer, Langanesbyggdh, Mosfellsbaer, Myrdalshreppur, Nordhurthing, Rangarthing Eystra, Rangarthing Ytra, Reykholahreppur, Reykjanesbaer, Reykjavikurborg, Sandgerdhisbaer, Seltjarnarnesbaer, Seydhisfjardharkaupstadhur, Skaftarhreppur, Skagabyggdh, Skeidha-og Gnupverjahreppur, Skorradalshreppur, Skutustadhahreppur, Snaefellsbaer, Strandabyggdh, Stykkisholmsbaer, Sudhavikurhreppur, Svalbardhshreppur, Svalbardhsstrandarhreppur, Sveitarfelagidh Arborg, Sveitarfelagidh Gardhur, Sveitarfelagidh Hornafjordhur, Sveitarfelagidh Olfus, Sveitarfelagidh Skagafjordhur, Sveitarfelagidh Skagastrond, Sveitarfelagidh Vogar, Talknafjardharhreppur, Thingeyjarsveit, Tjorneshreppur, Vestmannaeyjabaer, Vesturbyggdh and Vopnafjardharhreppur. Iceland is divided into 74 municipalities as the first level administrative divisions (sveitarfelog, singular - sveitarfelagidh). Iceland has 8 regions that are purely statistical divisions. And in fact, the resultant cloud of volcanic ash brought major disruption to air travel across Europe.ĭue to its stunning geographical features including mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, volcanoes and the pristine environment, Iceland is a great tourist destination for nature lovers. Further eruptions in April forced hundreds of people to abandon their homes. The location of this point have been marked on the map by a yellow upright triangle.Īnd speaking of Volcanoes, on March 21, 2010, the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in southern Iceland erupted for the first time since 1821, forcing 600 people to flee their homes.

The highest point in Iceland is Hvannadalshnukur, a peak on the edge of the Öræfajökull Volcano, which rises 6,922 feet (2,110 m). The Vatnajokull glacier is equal in size to all the glaciers on the European mainland put together and reaches a thickness of 3000 ft. During the past few decades, however, they've markedly thinned and retreated owing to a milder climate.īy far the largest of the glaciers is the Vatnajokull in southeast Iceland, with an area of 3,240 sq. Most of the vegetation and agricultural areas are in the lowlands close to the coastline.Īs can be observed on the physical map of Iceland, the country's most distinctive features are the glaciers that cover over 4,600 sq. Iceland is largely an arctic desert punctuated by mountains, glaciers, geysers, hot springs, volcanoes, and waterfalls. Even today, the country is growing by about 5 cm per year, as it splits wider at the points where two tectonic plates meet.

The island owes its existence to a large volcanic fissure in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the Eurasian and American tectonic plates meet. The Nordic island nation of Iceland occupies an area of 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq miles) in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Ona island