Iceland: landmarks, animals & facts for kids

Iceland is an island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, just south of the Arctic Circle, between Greenland and Norway. Its capital, Reykjavík, is the northernmost capital of any independent country. Iceland is often called the land of fire and ice, because it has active volcanoes, steaming hot springs and big glaciers side by side. Fewer than half a million people live here, making it the most thinly populated country in Europe.

On My Earth Toy you can visit Hallgrímskirkja, a tall concrete church in Reykjavík whose stepped shape was inspired by the basalt columns found in Iceland's lava. You can also discover Surtsey, a brand-new island that rose out of the sea in a volcanic eruption in the 1960s.

Geography and nature

Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian plates slowly pull apart, so eruptions and earthquakes are common. The famous hot spring Geysir gave its name to geysers all over the world. Glaciers cover about a tenth of the land; under the great Vatnajökull ice cap stands the highest peak, Hvannadalshnúkur, 2,110 metres tall. In summer, cliffs fill with nesting puffins, and in winter the northern lights dance across the sky.

People, languages and culture

Icelanders speak Icelandic, which has changed so little that people can still read sagas written about 800 years ago. Most Icelanders do not have family surnames: a person's last name usually shows a parent's first name, such as Jónsson (son of Jón) or Jónsdóttir (daughter of Jón). Hot water from the ground heats most homes and fills outdoor swimming pools used all year. At Christmas, children wait for 13 mischievous Yule Lads who visit one by one.

History in a nutshell

Norse settlers, along with people from Scotland and Ireland, arrived in the late 9th century. In 930 they founded the Althing, an open-air assembly that is one of the oldest parliaments in the world still working today. In the 13th century Iceland came under Norwegian rule and later under Denmark. It became a sovereign kingdom under the Danish crown in 1918 and a fully independent republic on 17 June 1944, which is now its national day.