Environment, In Pictures

Iceland – The Land of Opposites

By NewsRoom24 on September 7th, 2014 / Views
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Iceland is a country of extreme contrasts. Widely known as “The Land of Fire and Ice” Iceland is home to some of the largest glaciers in Europe, and some of the world’s most active volcanoes. Iceland is also the land of light and darkness.

Long summer days with near 24-hours of sunshine are offset by short winter days with only few hours of daylight.

Iceland is also a very young country with old traditions. In fact, it is the youngest landmass in Europe with the continent’s oldest parliament, formed in 930 AD. Commonly said to be located at the juncture between the North American and Eurasian continental plates.There are lot of juncture between the North American and Eurasian continental plates can be experienced on many other places in Iceland, for example at the wildly popular Blue Lagoon.

From the moss covered lava fields in the southwest, through the barren highlands in the centre, to the soaring fjords in the northwest, a drive around Iceland will attest to the great diversity of landscape, which changes with every turn in the road, and of course with every changing season, each with its own charm.

Iceland was the last country to be settled in Europe, when emigrants from Scandinavia and the British Isles first came to live on the island in the ninth and tenth century. It remains the most sparsely populated country in the continent with less than three inhabitants per square kilometre. Shaped by the unrelenting forces of nature, Iceland’s harsh natural environment has bred a resilient nation that has learned to exist under extreme conditions, and harness the natural resources for its own prosperity.

Iceland, a country rich with roaring volcanoes, monolithic glaciers, icy mountains and deep fjords, has become a mecca for photographers looking to capture the raw, mystical power of its natural northern beauty

The eruptions of Icelandic volcanoes have impacted the course of human events throughout history. In 1783, the eruption of Laki caused widespread devastation throughout Europe, and even caused a famine in Egypt and interrupted monsoon patterns in Northern Africa and India. In 2010, the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull sent up clouds of ash across Europe, grounding thousands of flights.

Here are some stunning photographs from various cameras across the world: amazing-iceland-landscapes-1 amazing-iceland-landscapes-2 amazing-iceland-landscapes-12 amazing-iceland-landscapes-16 amazing-iceland-landscapes-24 amazing-iceland-landscapes-25 amazing-iceland-landscapes-36 amazing-iceland-landscapes-41 amazing-iceland-landscapes-42 amazing-iceland-landscapes-43 amazing-iceland-landscapes-44 amazing-iceland-landscapes-47 amazing-iceland-landscapes-50 amazing-iceland-landscapes-57 amazing-iceland-landscapes-61 amazing-iceland-landscapes-64 amazing-iceland-landscapes-651

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