Natural Wonders of Iceland

You will see my videos of Bingvellir National Park on the rift between the North American and Eurasian continental plates, waterfalls, geysers, hot springs, and two active volcanoes. It’s one of the youngest land mases, over a hot spot between the plates, only 16 to 18 million years old.

I learned that 25% of the population of only around 400,000 are immigrants, about a third live in Reykjavik. Icelandic men are mainly of Norwegian descent and women are half Irish—their ancestors were brought over as slaves by the Vikings starting in the 800s. They lived in group longhouses with dirt floors, a fire in the middle, sleeping on wood planks, with a stable on one end and storage on the other. You’ll see where the world’s oldest parliament (930) was held in the rift between the plates. Their Irish and Norse ancestors brought a legacy of belief in elves, trolls, and Hidden People (see my video on folklore). They deforested the spruce trees, so now only 1% is forested, which creates long vistas.Students learn English and Danish is school, as well as Icelandic (which descends from ancient Norwegian). They got their independence for Denmark in 1918 and became a republic in 1944. Tourism is a major source of revenue, along with fishing, aluminum production (enabled by inexpensive thermal energy—see my video on that), and now AI production, again due to cheap electricity along with cold temperatures needed to keep computers cool.Women are the heads of the two universities (education and health care are free and taxes are about a third of income, said a teacher), the major political parties, the President and Prime Minister, and the Lutheran Church. Iceland has no army, just Coast Guard ships. “We honor our women,” the school teacher told me.