Geography |
The Republic of Iceland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, 320 km east of Greenland and 1050 km west of Norway. It is about 305 km from north to south and about 485 km from east to west, with an area of 102 950 km2. It lies just below the Arctic Circle.
A large plateau covers most of the island, dropping sharply to grassy lowlands along the coast.
The plateau is a rugged, barren area about 750 m above sea level. Hvannadalshnúkur (2119 m) is the highest summit. The entire area is highly volcanic, with a number of active volcanoes, hot springs and geysers. On the other hand, glaciers cover one-eighth of the land, with a thickness of over 1 km in places. The largest of these, Vatnajokull, covers 8 456 km2. Glaciers have cut deep fjords in the coast. There are numerous small lakes and small but swift-flowing rivers.
Despite it high latitude, Iceland has a relatively mild climate due to the northern extension of the Gulf Stream. Summers are mild and the winters cool. The mean annual temperature at Reykjavik is about 5° C, with a range from -1° C in January to 11° C in July. The city gets about 760 mm of precipitation a year, but some of Iceland's interior mountains receive up to 4 570 mm a year. High winds are prevalent during the winter season.
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.