Iceland
Iceland is an island country in the North Atlantic and a Nordic state. Its landscape is shaped by volcanic activity, glaciers, and geothermal energy.
North Atlantic: The northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, bounded by Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Iceland lies between Greenland and Europe in this ocean.
Icelandic volcanic system: The linked volcanoes and fissure zones through which magma reaches Iceland's surface. These systems build new land and periodically disrupt life across the island.
Settlement of Iceland: The ninth- and tenth-century migration, chiefly from Norway and Norse colonies, that established Iceland's population. It began the society from which Iceland's distinctive political institutions emerged.
Icelandic fishing industry: The commercial harvesting and processing of marine resources, a major part of Iceland's economy. Fishing has long shaped exports, coastal settlements, and national policy.
Cod Wars: A series of disputes between Iceland and the United Kingdom over fishing limits from the 1950s to 1970s. The confrontations helped Iceland secure control over its expanded fishing grounds.
Mid-Atlantic Ridge: An underwater mountain system marking the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The ridge crosses Iceland, driving its rifting and volcanism.
Icelandic rift zones: Active areas of crustal stretching and faulting where Iceland straddles a divergent plate boundary. They expose the island's ongoing separation of two tectonic plates.
Althing: Iceland's national parliament, founded in 930 and among the world's oldest legislative assemblies. The assembly gave early Iceland a shared political forum without a king.
Icelandic renewable energy: Iceland's energy system, dominated by hydropower and geothermal power. Its renewable electricity supports homes and energy-intensive industries.
Iceland in World War II: Iceland's wartime occupation by British forces in 1940 and later presence of United States forces. Its North Atlantic position made the island strategically important during the war.