A geologically young land, Iceland lies on the north edge of the Mid Atlantic Ridge. It is being split by the divergent movements of the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate. Iceland is one of the most active volcanic regions on Earth. It is estimated that 1/3 of the planet’s lava erupted since 1500 A.D. was produced in Iceland. At the northern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, sits the Thingvellir Fissure Zone. It is a tear in the earth where the divergent North American Plate meets the Euro-Asian Plate. The resulting vulcanism is the reason Iceland exists.
Receeding Glacier, the Vatnajokull Glacier, Iceland
Egilsstaðir is a town in east Iceland on the banks of Lagarfljót river. The town has approximately 2,200 inhabitants. The town is young, even by Icelandic standards where urbanization is a fairly recent trend compared to mainland Europe.
