Iceland is a tourist country. The scenery in Iceland is unique and has the most beautiful aurora in the world. Although Iceland is covered in ice and snow, under the thick ice and snow, there is also the most active aurora in the world. volcanoes, this article will give you a brief introduction to Iceland’s geographical location and climate environment!
About 75% of Iceland is plateau with an altitude of more than 400 meters, and the rest is plain lowland. The area covered by ice and snow accounts for about 13% of the country's area. There are many glaciers in the territory, among which Vatnaj?kull in the east is the largest glacier in Europe. Not only is Iceland cold and snowy, it is also the most volcanically active region in the world. Therefore, Iceland is also known as "the island where ice and fire exist".
In the 7th century AD, Irish monks first arrived in Iceland, and they regarded it as a hermitage until the early 9th century. Traditionally, the period between 874 and 930 is defined as Iceland's "recolonization period". At that time, political turmoil in Scandinavia forced many Nordic people to flee westward. The first people to settle here were the Norwegians. They settled in a place with hot springs in 874 AD. They named it Reykjavik, which means "Smoke Bay", and it is now the capital of Iceland.
Iceland has a special terrain. Although the country is called "Iceland", there are more than 200 volcanoes on the island. Almost the entire country is built on volcanic rocks, and most of the land cannot be cultivated. It is the country with the most hot springs in the world, so it is called the "Land of Ice and Fire". The great power of nature is gentle, rough, strange, weird, illusory, even cruel and helpless in Iceland. On this island, you can enjoy glaciers, hot springs, geysers, active volcanoes, ice caps, tundra, ice fields, and snow. Peaks, volcanic rock deserts and waterfalls.
Iceland’s geology is similar to that of the ocean floor, and its bedrock is dominated by basalt and volcanic debris. There is a layer of granite on the bedrock of the continent, but there is basically none in Iceland. Most of the current rocks in Iceland solidified 60 to 40 million years ago. Due to the long-term volcanic activity in Iceland, fossils are extremely rare, so identification of geological age is almost limited to the use of radioactive isotopes contained in rocks.
Of the more than 200 volcanoes in Iceland, more than 30 are active volcanoes, with more than 150 eruptions recorded in history. Iceland is located on a trench in the Atlantic Ocean, and every time the trench expands, it triggers volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. In the 18th century, frequent volcanic eruptions destroyed a quarter of Iceland's land, leaving Icelanders unable to see the sun for many years. In recent years, scientists have used infrared detectors to identify five areas where the ground temperature has risen, indicating a possible danger of volcanic eruptions. Since the 12th century, Iceland's most famous volcano, Hekla, has had about two major eruptions every century.
In 1947, Mount Hekla began its most violent eruption. The sky in the entire area turned dark, and the wind blew some volcanic scoria and ash to Scandinavia, 1,600 kilometers east of Iceland. Navia Peninsula. Lava flowed from the summit crater in streams for more than a year. After the lava stopped flowing out and the newly erupted rock layers were added, the volcanic cone of Hekla Peak increased by more than 130 meters. In the spring of the next year, after the volcanic eruption stopped, the deep volcanic gas continued to flow down the slopes and condensed in nearby valleys, causing grazing livestock to often be suffocated to death.
The Westman Islands, located at the southern tip of Iceland, rose from the seabed of the North Atlantic after a volcanic eruption about 10,000 years ago and became what they are today. The Westman Islands are composed of 16 small islands, the largest of which is called Heimyi Island, which means "home island" in Icelandic. Heimyi Island is surrounded by blue waves, with mountains and green grass. However, the two active volcanoes on Heimyi Island are in danger of erupting at any time. Once the volcanoes buried under the ice wake up, they will lift the ice caps and erupt a large amount of ice, causing a strange ice eruption phenomenon.
In 1973, the volcano suddenly erupted. The spreading magma and volcanic ash rising into the sky destroyed 1/3 of the villages on the island and annihilated hundreds of houses. But in the face of an active volcano that could erupt at any time, the locals did not show fear or escape. They still lived and worked in peace and contentment and lived a leisurely life.
At the same time, the volcano has become one of the most attractive landscapes on Heimyi Island. Tourists come here not only to appreciate the local beauty, but also to explore the unique local volcanic landforms and experience the feeling of being with the volcano. In order to reduce the risk of volcanic eruptions, scientists have been closely observing Iceland. When will the god of fire show his power?