is ice land realy a land of ice?

Answer 1

A volcanic island, Iceland is Europe's westernmost country and home to the world's northernmost capital city, Reykjavík. Although glaciers cover more than a tenth of the island, the Gulf Stream and warm southwesterly winds moderate the climate—most residents occupy the country's southwest. Established in 930, the national assembly, or Althingi, is the world's oldest continuous parliament. Under the Danish crown for more than 500 years, the country became a republic in 1944. Almost all of Iceland's electricity and heating come from hydroelectric power and geothermal water reserves. Explosive geysers, relaxing geothermal spas, glacier-fed waterfalls like Gullfoss (Golden Falls), and whale watching attract more than 270,000 visitors a year.

Answer 2

Looking at some of the answers here, I wonder if those who claim to have been to Iceland really have. I have and although not a land of ice, there are a number of significant ice caps on Iceland, Langjokull and Hofsjokull in the interior west, Myrdalsjokull on the southern coast, and Vatnajokull on the eastern coast.

The Icelandic summer is, at best, 10 weeks long. When I was there, the end of summer was marked by 2-3 feet of snow fall.

During winter the Island is totally white. Please see the link.

Iceland sits just south of the edge of the Arctic Circle at the intersection of two tectonic plates, which accounts for its volcanic activity. Located on a mid-ocean ridge between the North American and the Eurasian tectonic plates, Iceland is being slowly pulled in two as the two plates spread apart.

The harsh climate that might be expected based on the island’s closeness to the Arctic Circle is softened by the tail end of the Gulf Stream Current, which flows up through the Atlantic Ocean bringing heat from the tropics. Unlike its eastern neighbor Greenland, large portions of Iceland shake off their wintry cover each year. But between the lava fields, cold deserts, and the tundra that dominates the northern parts of the island, only about 20-25 percent of the island is habitable, mostly along the south and eastern coasts.

Land of Ice? Perhaps not. Inhospitable, cold and barren it certainly is.

Answer 3

Iceland is one place where enough magma has risen above the surface of the ocean to form a large island. This process is ongoing as there is a fault line running through it. There are many known active volcanoes, hot springs, geysers (a word derived from the name of one in Iceland, Geysir). and bubbling mud pools. These all occur because of hot magma close to the surface, or under underground rivers and streams. This energy has been harnessed by the locals.

However, It is situated quite in the north, just below the Arctic Circle. Approximately 11 % of the island is glaciated. the Highlands of Iceland, is a cold and uninhabitable combination of sands and mountains. During the last Ice Age almost all of the country was covered by permanent snow and glacier ice.

Yet, Iceland is not as cold as its name suggests - most of the country is green and grassy, though there are some large ice caps, including Vatnajökull, the biggest ice cap in Europe, which covers about 3,000 square miles.


Theories of the origin of the name 'Iceland'.
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1. The rebels of Norway who wanted to avoid the rule of King Harald the Fairhaired escaped with their families to Iceland. Because they wanted to be left well alone, and having come across a much colder island to the west, they named the island to the west 'Greenland' in the hopes that people would believe it to be more hospitable than Iceland.

2. Iceland was named after Vatnajökull as that is visible from much of the country.

3. One of the first people to visit Iceland, Flosi Vilgerðarson, named it Iceland upon seeing a fjord filled with ice and finding the whole thing very uninviting.

So it is for you to believe whether it is a land of ice or not.

Answer 4

In parts (I think it has three Glaciers) but mostly it's volcanic rock.

It was called iceland by one of the earlier settlers but it's capital city has a name more apt - Reykjavik - which means smoky city. Referring to the geo-thermal pools which have smoke rising everywhere and the geysers that spray steam and water everywhere.

I'll tell you one thing though, lovely as the country is, it doesn't half smell bad. All that sulphur - I thought there was something wrong with my boyfriends stomach for the first day. Then I realised the actual land had bad wind!

Answer 5

No its not. There is land underneath the ice. Its only the north pole that is a land of ice

Answer 6

No. Long ago there was a war. People fled the country to escape attackers. They gave Greenland its name to trick them. That way the attackers would go to Greenland thinking it was the place where the people were hiding. They suspected Iceland was frozen. But alas, they were tricked.

Answer 7

No green land has by far more ice,

Answer 8

No-when Leif Erickson descovered it, he decided he would want to settle it, so he named it Iceland so other people wouldn't want it for themselves. Iceland is actually filled with volcanoes (the oozy kind, not the kind that spew rocks and toxic gas all over the place) and I think it's on top of a hot spot in the Earth's crust.

Answer 9

if it is, the position would be constantly changing (ice floats)
All cold countries have a piece of land below the thick layer of ice

Answer 10

Iceland is not covered in Ice and Greenland is .