!!!Fjallabak Nature Reserve

by members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

23 July 2012

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

“Ice and fire” – these are two words, which despite their seeming mutual
exclusiveness, perfectly grasp the nature of Iceland. Although called
“the land of ice”, ironically, Iceland has boiling hot springs and
geothermal lakes. And how magnificent are the flows of glowing lava from
Eyjafjallajoekull, the famous volcano!

Iceland is actually one of the most active volcanic regions in the
world. Moreover, despite its name and the fact that it has glaciers,
Iceland is not an arctic country. The climate of Iceland has cold
oceanic temperatures with strong winds; the weather is wet and quite
variable. Icelanders joke that if you don’t like the weather in Iceland,
just wait five minutes for it to get worse.

Not too many people reside on the island. According to the 2010 US
census, the population of Iceland totals 317,630 people, ranking 180th
in the world. Their human population is much smaller than their national
sheep population of just under 800,000. More than half of Icelanders
live in the country’s capital, Reykjavík. This is what makes Iceland the
least densely populated country in Europe with only about 3 people per
square kilometer. Notably, the country boasts a rather robust sheep to
human ratio of two to one. This means that in an area of one square
kilometer, one may run into 4.5 sheep and 2.5 people. But in reality,
one is more likely to see sheep than people along the road.

[{Image src='01_Landmannalaugar.jpg' caption='Landmannalaugar' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='557'}]

The landscape in Iceland is very desolate and harsh. There are almost no
trees. In winter, the central part of the island resembles the moon’s
surface. This is why NASA astronauts conducted their lunar landing
training here.

One of the most famous landmarks of Iceland is the Blue Lagoon. This
unique geothermal pool is located in the southwest region of the
country. It is about 200 meters wide and several kilometers long. Water
temperature averages +37°?. The pool attracts tons of tourists every
year, total number of which is almost equals the country’s population –
over 300,000 people.

[{Image src='02_Alftavatn lake.jpg' caption='Alftavatn lake' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='462'}]

Iceland is also home to Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajokull, and the
most “boiling” river in the world – Deydartunguver. Its hot boiling
cascades are fed by the hot springs and have an average water flow of
225 liters per second.

Moreover, the European equivalent to Niagara Falls is also located in
Iceland. It is Dettifoss, the mightiest waterfall in this part of the
world. It spills over 200 tons of water per second from 45 meters
height. One can see its splashes a mile away, and rainbows play in its
waters on sunny days.

And lastly, the geysers are yet another famous landmark of Iceland. In
total, there are more than 250 geyser groups consisting of 7,000 hot
springs – the world greatest cluster of geysers.

[{Image src='03_Hot steam valley.jpg' caption='Hot steam valley' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='478'}]

However, these records are not the ones that portray the charm of the
nature of Iceland. Spacious fields, mountains, and water exists in all
possible states: from frozen ice to steaming geysers – this is what
makes this unique, majestic, harsh and deserted landscape of Iceland,
the country that looks so different from anything else in the world.

\\ \\
[9 Panoramas of Fjallabak Nature Reserve|Geography/Europe/Iceland/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Fjallabak_Nature_Reserve]










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