Iceland Research Paper

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Iceland is a country located at the very north of the Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. One of the main reasons I chose Iceland as my topic is because of its many interesting features such as its volcanic activity, and the presence of mountains and glaciers. Not only that, but Iceland is also home to a very unique culture and one of my favorite bands originates from there. I also have a very close friend who took a trip to Iceland recently. Iceland is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and the longest mountain range in the world (Wikipedia). It separates the Eurasian plate and the North American plate near Iceland, and the section of the…show more content…
According to the same source, Iceland owes its existence to a large volcanic hot spot sitting on the mid-oceanic ridge. This being said, Iceland has a great number of volcanoes, and active ones at that. The most famous volcano in Iceland is Mount Hekla, which erupts magma. Hekla is still “very active”, according to the Iceland Total. It erupted in 1970, 1980, 1981, 1991, and the most recent eruption occurred in 2000 and lasted for 12 days. The volcano has been around for 7000 years and has been blowing up randomly ever since. Apparently about 2800 years ago, Mount Hekla had its largest eruption, and traces of the blast have been found as far as Scandinavia. Mount Katla is located in the most southern portion of Iceland, which is a mountain recently known for causing flooding when it melted glaciers on top of it. Due to all of Iceland’s volcanic activity, there is also a great deal of glacial activity. According to Wikipedia, the glaciers of Iceland cover 11.1% of the land area of the country, having a considerable impact on the country’s landscape. Most of the glaciers are on top of volcanoes. The largest glacier in Iceland is called Vatnajökull, which alone covers 8% of Iceland; it is also the largest glacier in Europe. Vatnajökull appears to have started shrinking in size ever since the 1930s, which is believed to be due to climate…show more content…
From what I’ve seen Iceland is just a majestic looking country all around. Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band, known for its many unique features that separate them from most other bands. All of the band members originate from Iceland, and they play free shows all over the country along with touring the United States and other countries. There are few bands from Iceland that are relatively “big” and are extremely talented, so I find their association with Iceland quite intriguing. I would also like to visit Iceland myself one day as did my

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