ICELAND. An island and Danish colony in the North Atlantic. on Hie northern edge of the temperate zone. The Arefie Circle cuts the two most northern points of the island. wide]] ex tends south to latitude G3° 35' N., and from longitude 13° 23' to 24° 35' W. (Map: Denmark. I: I). It is about WO miles distant from Nor• way, and 250 from Greenland. Its area is 39.75(1 square miles, of which only about one-sixth is habitable. The southern coast has no indenta tions, hut the west, north, and east coasts are oki-II to a remarkable extent by deep firds, skirted by litany small islands. In the south the coastal lands are low and sandy, but elsewhere the coasts are frowning and precipi tous.
Iceland is a hind of plateaus, built tip of yob 111:1-,... 0/ Ohl Told recent origin: forma dating from before the Tertiary Period are nowheie found. The average height of the land is from 1000 to 20011 feet. The few low grounds are small, and occupy only about one•fourteentli of the total area. Only these low grounds, tic coasts, and some narrow valleys are inhabited, while the extensive highlands are quite mitit tor settlement : the outer edges only are utilized as slimmer pastures for sheep. Basalt and volcanic breceia are the component rocks: the latter is found in the venire and extend, down to the smith, while the greater part of the west, north. and east coasts consists of basalt.
Above the elevated plains of the interior rise the broad domes of the iee-covered mountains; the largest of them rest on breecia, and where the glaciers descend almost to the sea, as on the south coast, there are no fiords or harbors, for these have been tilled up by detritus. The ba saltic regions, on the contrary. are intersected by numerous fiords. and contain many good harbors, often lying ladlind narrow tongues of land, which probably are old glacier moraines.
There are Malty lakes, but most of thwill are small. In the valleys of the basaltic tracts are deep lakes hollowed out of the solid rocks, as, for instance. the Lagarlljot. the surface of which lies S5 feet above while its bottom is 275 feet below. In the one finds several groups of moraine lakes, and in recent times large sheets of water have been formed by the damming up of glacier streams. Certain lakes till formed by the sinking of lava streams, while others are typieal crater lakes. During a journey in 1S-19 Ilerr Thorcaldsen dis covered to the west of the great snow-lield of Vatnajiikull, a grand and beautiful group of crater lakes. This eountry is remarkable for its natural beauty: the whole surface is covered with colossal craters tilled with water, and would resemble a in the nio(m were it not for the greenish pools that show themselves every where among the coal-black lava, the brownish mounds of ashes, and the red heaps of scoria', The glaciers of Iceland cover an area of 5300 square miles. The climate is peculiarly suited for the development of large glaciers, for the air is keen, eold, and damp. On the southeast coast the rainfall is eonsiderable, and here lies the great Vatnaj0kull. 3100 square miles in area. The humidity on the coast is much greater than it is in the interior highlands, as is shown by the height of the sno•-line. On the smith side of Vatnajiikull the snow-line descends to 1970 feet, while on the north side it is 4270 feet above the sea. The glacier advances on
the south to 05 feel above the sea, while the low est glacier on the north terminates at an altitude of 2500. Large areas (1300 to 4000 square miles) in the very centre of the island are covered with lava of recent origin. The higher lava-fields arc almost entirely devoid of vegetation. and present a most dreary appearanee. The most extensive lava desert is the Odadalirann. to the north of Vatnajiikull, which covers an area of over 1540 square miles, and lies 2000 to 4000 feet above the sea. Its volume is probably more than 51 cubic miles, and it has been formed by the eject amenta of 20 volcanoes. There are about 100 volcanoes, of which 20 have been in eruption in modern times. The best-known volcanoes are Hecla, Katla, and Askja. The crater of Askja is 16 square miles in area, and is covered with glaciers which melt in times of eruption, caus ing great inundations. There are many hot springs, and the geysers are famous for their in termittent eruptions of scalding water. About 75 severe earthquakes have occurred in the past century, many of which have done great damage to life and property. Several shocks in the closing years of the nineteenth century were severely felt in Reykjavik, the capital and chief town.
The climate is not very severe, considering the high latitude, as the island is open to the ameliorating influences of the Atlantic. In the highlands of the interior it is more severe and variable; here snow-storms often occur even in the middle of summer. The winter is long and damp, the summer short and cool. A journey can seldom be commenced before July, for in spring the soil is saturated with snow-water, and the mountains and elevated plateaus covered with snow. Grass first appears on elevated spots in July. while in the highlands of the interior the scattered patches of verdure seldom yield fodder for horses before the end of August. The great est hindrance to exploration is this scarcity of grass. The lowlands and the valleys have a great depth of rich soil, and on the field slopes grasses of several kinds mingle with the scrubby moun tain birch and stunted willow, and atTord luxu riant herbage for the sheep. A few mountain ashes are the only trees worthy of the name, Efyin us arenarius, a species of wild cormis grown along the sandy coasts: and Iceland moss is a lucrative article of commerce.
The fauna embraces, in seven families, 34 spe cies of mammals, 24 of which live in the water. Seals breed around the coasts, several varieties of whales. basking sharks, and over 60 species of fishes abound in the adjacent waters, and wal ruses are sometimes caught. White and blue foxes are numerous and are hunted for their fur. In 1770 reindeer were imported from Denmark, and are now found wild in the interior. Polar bears frequently arrive on ice-drifts from Green land. The horse, the cow, the sheep, dog, and cat are the domestic animals. The dog resembles the Scotch collie and the Eskimo dog. Among indigenous birds are the falcon. ptarmigan, whist ling swan. and several species of ducks. The cider-duck is especially valuable for its down, and is jealously protected.