Iceland
Discover Iceland
Introduction
Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian plates are pulling apart at roughly two centimetres a year. The island is the seam made visible: a volcanic plateau built entirely from that rift, and still being built — eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula have been near-continuous since 2021.
It is the most sparsely populated country in Europe, with around 400,000 people, close to two-thirds of them in and around Reykjavík. The interior highlands are uninhabited and impassable for much of the year.
Nearly all heating and electricity come from geothermal and hydro sources, which is why there are outdoor pools in every village and why the tap water in the north smells faintly of sulphur.
The daylight swings from around four hours in December to near-continuous in June, and that alone reshapes what a visit can be.