Iceland offers a nearly incredible variety of different landscapes and nature phenomenas in a relatively small country. Geologically, Iceland is very young and in a certain way still in the making.

Volcanoes and geothermal areas put theire significant mark on the landscape. At least 30 volcanic systems with more than 160 eruptions have been active since the first days of the setlement and in the last 10 years there have been eruptions under the Vatnajökull ice cap on Hekla.

Geothermal activity can be found in nearly all parts of the country that offer visitors an unparalleled display of mud pools, steam vents, sulphur pits, hot springs and the best known of all: the Geysir.
Geothermal energy is also used to generate power and many hot springs are tapped for domestic and industrial use.

The uninhabited interior is a mountainous plateau with ice caps, bordered by vast glacial outwash plains. Here you can find the largest glaciers outside of Greenland and Antarctica, of which the largest, Vatnajökull, is 8,200 km²  and up to 1,000 m thick in places.

Rivers, fjords and waterfalls are the remainings of the last Ice Age, while powerful glacial torrents still continue to shape the land, carving spectacular gorges into the lava landscape. Quieter clear-water rivers and lakes are plentiful with an abundance of salmon, trout and char, and the northern and eastern fjords are suited to deep water fishing.
The main farming areas however are around the coast, particularly, in the south and west.

Wildlife

All land mammals, except the Arctic foxes, have been brougt by men into the country since the settlement. Among them are (besides the farm animals) reindeer, mink, mice and rats.

70 species of bird nest regularly in Iceland, including some that do not breed elsewhere in Europe. Huge numbers of sea birds can be found at the birdcliffs along the coast, and waders and wildfowl attract bird watchers from all over the world.

There are no reptiles in Iceland and biting insects are rare. Rich coastal waters attract plentiful marine life such as whales, dolphins and seals.

Flora

Only 25% of Iceland is continuously covered with vegetation, and only 1% with forest. Still the landscape is never dull. Colourfull arctic and alpine flora thrive even in the deserts of the interior highlands and in high altitude, among many types of moss and lichens.