Iceland Research Paper

657 Words2 Pages

Population:
Iceland is the least densely populated country in all of Europe with a population of just 330,000 people. Iceland’s largest city is its capital Reykjavik with approximately 120,000 people living there. Iceland is not a very diverse country with most of the people being white and Christian. In recent times, refugees have started coming to Iceland to escape terrorism and war.


Capital city:
The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik (ray-kee-a-vic). It is Iceland’s largest city and it is also the cleanest, most eco-friendly, and safest city in the world. Reykjavik is located at the southwestern tip of Iceland.

Government:
Iceland’s government is a parliamentary republic with a president, parliament, and a prime minister.

Physical features: …show more content…

Iceland is located to the northwest of Norway. Some of the physical features in Iceland include many massive volcanoes, glaciers, and geysers. Iceland has 130 volcanoes, but only 30 are active today. The largest volcanic eruption in the world came from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull (ey-a-fee-yaht-la-yuckel) volcano. It grounded flights for weeks all across Europe. Iceland is sometimes called the land of fire and ice because of this variety of landforms. The reason for all these volcanoes and geysers is because Iceland is located on a major fault line that separates the North American tectonic plate and the European tectonic plate. Iceland is constantly spewing lava and steam from the extreme pressure …show more content…

Icelanders still wear heavy sweaters with traditional designs and Icelandic wool. They are usually knitted in tones found in nature, such as white or black. Icelandic people also wear traditional costumes as a part of celebrating their Independence Day.

Religion:
Most Icelanders are descended from Vikings or are somehow genetically linked to them through marriage. The Vikings used to belong to the Norse Paganism religion which consisted of the gods Thor, Odin, and Loki. Most of Marvel’s movies about Thor were actually based on this very real religion that existed at the time of the Vikings. In modern times, the religion most common in Iceland is the Church of Iceland which is a Christian religion. About 73.8% of Iceland’s population belongs to the Church of Iceland.

Recreational activities:
Since Iceland is very cold, even in the summer, Icelanders love to read. Icelanders also like to play chess, handball, and soccer. People especially love swimming in pools heated by geothermal energy.

Traditions/ rites of passage:
Marriage in Iceland is optional and in modern times the marriage rate dropped to 4.6 per 1,000 people. Many Icelanders wait until they are fully established at work to get married.

More about Iceland Research Paper

Open Document