Statistics
- Geographic coordinates
- Northern Europe (for cultural and historical reasons it is not considered to be a part of North America), between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the British Isles.
- 65°00′N 18°00′W / 65°N 18°W / 65; -18
- North: Rifstangi, 66°32′3" N (Kolbeinsey, 67°08,9 N)
- South: Kötlutangi, 63°23′6" N (Surtsey, 63°17,7 N)
- West: Bjargtangar, 24°32′1" W
- East: Gerpir, 13°29′6" W (Hvalbakur, 13°16,6 W)
- Map references
- Arctic Region
- Area
-
- Total: 103,125 km²
- Land: 100,329 km²
- Water: 2,796 km²
- Land boundaries
- 0 km
- Coastline
- 4,988 km
- Maritime claims
-
- Continental shelf: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) or to the edge of the continental margin
- Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)
- Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
- Climate
- Temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; cool summers, damp in the South and West
- Terrain
- Mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, ice fields; coast deeply indented by bays and fjords
- Elevation extremes
-
- Lowest point: Jökulsárlón Lagoon: -146 m, Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- Highest point: Hvannadalshnúkur 2,110 m
- Natural resources
- Fish, hydropower, geothermal power.
- Land use
-
- Arable land: 0.07%
- Permanent crops: 0%
- Permanent pastures: 23%
- Forests and woodland: 1%
- Other: 76% (1993 est.)
- Irrigated land
- NA
- Natural hazards
- Earthquakes, volcanic activity, avalanches, and glacial lake outburst flooding (or jökulhlaups)
- Environment—current issues
- Water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment
- Environment—international agreements
-
- Party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution (MARPOL 73/78), Wetlands, Whaling
- Signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
- Geography—note
- Westernmost European country; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Iceland
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—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts—for support rather than illumination.”
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—Günther Grass (b. 1927)