Chapter 19 - I bet you didn´t know...

I thought I would put together some interesting facts about Iceland. You never know when these might come in handy at a trivia night... so best to pay attention!

* Iceland is often referred to as the ´land of fire and ice´ because of the large glaciers, steaming hot springs, geysers and volcanoes.

* 15% of Iceland is covered by glaciers, with the Vatnajökull Glacier being the biggest glacier in Iceland (making up 11%) and the biggest in all of Europe (8300km²).

* There are nearly 12,000 glaciers and nearly 2800 lakes in Iceland.

* Iceland is the least populated country (per capita) in Europe, and seventh in the world.

* Iceland was the first country in the world to establish a parliament (in 930).

* Icelanders had the first female president in the world - Vigdis Finnbogadottir was in office for 16 years (1980 - 1996) before retiring.

* Icelanders have the highest literacy rate in the world – 99.9% literacy rate

* Icelanders have one of the highest employment rates (per capita) in the world.

* Icelanders rank near the top of world (per capita) in connectivity to the internet.

* Iceland has no army, navy, or air force. It does have a Coast Guard which guards the 200 nautical miles of fishing territories that belong to Iceland. In the 1970s, the British Navy tried to claim part of Iceland´s fishing territories, however Iceland´s Coast Guard - with their two little boats – successfully defended their fishing territory and chased the whinging poms away! This is known as the “Cod War” and Icelanders feel very proud (or should I say cocky?) about this achievement.

* Iceland has some of the most beautiful women in the world (and I snagged one of them!), having won Miss World three times.

* Reykjavik is the world´s most northerly capital.

* Reykavik was originally a Viking settlement and named ´Reykjavik´ by the Viking Ingolfur Arnarson. Reykjavik means “smokey bay” and was given this name because of the mist caused by the boiling natural geysers and geothermal springs in the area. The numerous geothermal springs that run beneath the city provides almost all the heating and water in the city. (The cost of electricity and heating is very very cheap here... about the only thing that is cheap!). The only byproduct of this system is a faint odour of hydrogen sulphide, which is evident when the water runs down the sink. Because of the natural heating underneath the city, there is no need to burn any fuels... I´m sure Al Gore would be happy to hear that!

* In the middle of winter (December) the sun rises at 11:20am and sets at 3:30pm, with the average temperature in winter being 0°C. In the middle of the summer (June) the sun rises at 2:50am and sets just after midnight (although it is light all through the night during this time). The average temperature in summer is 10°C.