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Index : I : Iceland Encyclopedia FunTrivia

Structure

Interesting Questions, Facts and Information

  • There are a total of 30 general entries.

Frequently Asked Questions & Answers

  • There are 10 user-asked question matches ( goto )


Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

    Iceland

    What season causes Iceland to be referred to as 'the land of the midnight sun'?Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      summer. Due to the tilt of the earth's axis, the sun shines almost directly on the upper part of the planet, causing 20 hours of sunlight in summer.

    What percent of Iceland's exports of goods is made up of fish and fish products?More Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      70%. Due to the warm Gulf Stream that rises up towards Iceland, there are places that make for great feeding grounds for fish, so fish is a really big part of their economy.

    What percent of Iceland is covered by glaciers?Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      11.5. Vatnajokull is Iceland's largest glacier.

    What is the native language of Iceland?Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      Icelandic. Icelandic comes from old Norse, with a few added characters of their own.

    What is the capital of Iceland?Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      Reykjavik. Vatnajokull is a glacier and Breidamerkurjokull is a southern outlet.

    What is the approximate population of Iceland (as of 2005)?Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      295,000. Most of the inhabitants of Iceland live along the southern parts of their country.

    What is the approximate area of Iceland?Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      103,000 km. Iceland may be fairly large, but there are only three people (on average) per square km.

    What does Reykjavik mean?Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      Smoky Bay. Reykjavik has a population of approximately 108,000 people.

    We now start moving west. We cross a deserted area called Öræfi and marvel at the sight of the queen of mountains in Iceland, namely Herdubreid. We take a right turn when we reach Jokulsa a Fjollum river. This is a small detour, just so we can see the most powerful waterfall in Europe. What's its name?Amazing Iceland (arnist)

      Dettifoss. Dettifoss is the biggest and most powerful waterfall in Europe. It's unlikely that its power will ever be used for electricity generation because it's situated inside the Jokulsargljufur national park.

    We now head south, take the Baldur ferry from Brjanslaekur to Stykkisholmur on the Snaefellsnes peninsula. There we head west, towards the end of the peninsula. Soon we start to see one of the most picturesque mountains in Iceland. It's about 1500 meters high and is a volcano. What's its name?Amazing Iceland (arnist)

      Snaefellsjokull. Snaefellsjokull appeared in Jules Verne novel, "The Journey to the Center of the Earth". It last erupted 1750 years ago.

    We continue, first to the east but the slowly but surely start moving north. This area is called Austfirdir (Eastern fjords) and is an area of many fjords and small towns. By taking a slight detour we drive down into a narrow but beautiful fjord. It's the place where the Smyrill Line ferry arrives to Iceland. What is the name of this town (and fjord)?Amazing Iceland (arnist)

      Seidisfjordur. Seidisfjordur is a beautiful town with a history centre. It hasn't grown much for the last 50 years but was an important town in the past, especially as the telephone line that connected Iceland with Europe came up in it.

    We continue west. Soon the landscape starts to change and we start to see the green color of moss and bushes. We cross a mountain range through Namaskard and suddenly one of Iceland's greatest natural wonder appears in front of our eyes. What's the name of this lake?Amazing Iceland (arnist)

      Myvatn. Myvatn is an amazing natural phenomenon with its volcanoes, hot springs, lava-fields of a lunar-like landscape, a variety of bird-life and tons and tons of my (mygga). The lake cannot be seen from the air because it so full of its bustling alga-culture.

    We continue eastward, past Mt. Hekla, Skógafoss, Dyrhólaey and Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Soon we start to see the white cover of the biggest glacier in Europe. What's its name?Amazing Iceland (arnist)

      Vatnajokull. Vatnajokull was originally named Klofajokull. The reasons for this are not known but a popular theory suggests that 1000 years ago the glacier was actually split and the glacier drew its name from that. (Ad klyfja = to split)

    We continue east and after having passed the geothermal power plant of Nesjavallavirkjun we encounter the largest lake in Iceland. This lake is named after the most sacred place in the country. What is it called?Amazing Iceland (arnist)

      Thingvallavatn. This is where the continental plates of Europe and Northern America are splitting. It is the birthplace of Althing, the oldest parliament in the world. Thingvallavatn is also a great fishing lake and 90MW of power are generated from the flow of the Sogid River.

    We begin our trip by landing in the Leifur Eriksson International Airport. Where is it located?Amazing Iceland (arnist)

      Keflavik. All the towns have airports. Jets can land in Reykjavik and Akureyri but only small airplanes can land in Fludir. Keflavik is however home to the (soon to close down, 2006) US airbase and the Leifur Eiriksson International Airport.

    True or false: at one point, the Althingi dissolved and Iceland was governed by one bishop?More Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      t. This is true, for a period from the late 1700's until 1843, the Althingi was overruled. I hope you enjoyed this quiz! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to tell me.

    The currency of Iceland is the pound?More Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      f. Iceland's currency is the kronur.

    Supposedly what two European countries did the Iceland settlers first come from?Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      Norway and Ireland. This is where they got their old Norse from. Also, the Icelanders adopted the Norse way of last names: taking the first name of your father and putting either son or daughter respectively after it. For example: Erikson (Erik's son) Folk lore says that the Irish came to Iceland, but there is no actual evidence.

    In what year was Christianity officially adopted in Iceland?More Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      1000. 1000 marked a big year for Iceland, because not only did they adopt Christianity, but they did it peacefully, without a big fight.

    In what year did Iceland gain their independence?More Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      1918. This happened on December 1, 1918. In 1944, Iceland was declared a republic on June 17th.

    In what century did the first settlers come?Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      9th. Iceland has some of the best kept accounts of the Viking sagas from around that time period.

    In Iceland, if my father's name was Tom, and I was a boy, what would my last name be?More Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      Tomsson. In Iceland, they use the traditional way of their people, they take their father's first name and place 'son' or 'dottir' after the name.

    Iceland has a traditional kind of food known as 'thorramatur'. What months are they most often eaten?More Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      January to March. 'Thorramatur' is a variety of foods including: smoked and salted lamb, singed sheep heads, dried fish, smoked and pickled salmon, cured shark and many other interesting munchies.

    Iceland has a literacy rate of 99.9%. This is due greatly to the fact that school is mandatory for all children between the ages of 7-16. In what year was this made obligatory?More Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      1946. In 1907, the Icelandic government made school mandatory for all children aged 10-14. However, in 1946, they changed that rule, because before then, most children were taught in their homes before they turned 10.

    Iceland boasts the oldest functioning parliament, the Althingi. How many members, though, does it hold?More Incredible Iceland (junepearl)

      63. The Althingi was formed in 930 A.D.

    And west we go. Now we take another detour from the no.1 ring road and enter and area full of fjords. This area hosts towns such as Isafjordur and Patreksfjordur and is also the home of the most western point of Europe. What's the name of this area?Amazing Iceland (arnist)

      The Westfjords. The Westfjords were a stronghold for magic and witchery in the Middle Ages. It's now filled with deep and narrow fjords and tiny towns.

    Again we head west. After driving approx. 100 km we enter the Capital of the North in Iceland. Where are we?Amazing Iceland (arnist)

      Akureyri. Akureyri has a population of just over 16000 and is one of the biggest fishing ports of Iceland. It's also the home of the much loved Brynju ice cream.

Frequently Asked Questions about Iceland

    • How many volcanoes are there in Iceland? ( goto )


    • What is the capital of the European country Iceland? ( goto )


    • Why is there no t.v. programs scheduled in Iceland on thursdays ? ( goto )


    • Why was there an increase in the number of wild polar bears in Iceland in the 1960s? ( goto )


    • Where did the hoax first originate to call Iceland "Iceland" when it was green, and Greenland "Greenland" when it was clearly made of ice? ( goto )


    • Which European country sells the most bananas: Finland, Denmark, Iceland or Ireland? ( goto )


    • Was Magnus Magnusson born in Edinburgh or Iceland - I've found different sources giving different answers? ( goto )


    • Was the original color of Coca-Cola green, and which country drinks the most Coke? Is it Australia, USA, Germany, or Iceland? ( goto )


    • A linguistics question. Why is it that, in the Dutch language, if a word begins with the common letter combination of "ij", both the I and the J are capitalised? I noticed this particularly is the word "IJsland", meaning "Iceland". ( goto )


    • An international organisation, abbreviated as TI, regularly compiles a controversial league table of countries in which Iceland has recently replaced Finland after years at the top and Chad came bottom. Who are TI and what is the table supposed to indicate? ( goto )


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