Icelandic Water and Environment

The land

Iceland is a country of sharp 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. Thingvellir, the site of said parliament is a designated UNESCO world heritage site, located at the juncture between the North American and Eurasian continental plates. There it’s possible to walk or even dive between two continents, which are being pushed apart by two centimetres every year. 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.

The Water

Water, in one form or another, covers a staggering 2,750 km² of Iceland's landmass. Glaciers blanket more than a tenth of the entire island, river systems snake through all regions, and there are over 10,000 waterfalls found in the country, including Europe’s most powerful cascade, Dettifoss. And on all sides, Iceland is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, where storms and winds cluster and build, battering this lonely island with sheets of rain, sleet and snow. It should, therefore, come as little surprise that water is a fundamental aspect of the Icelandic psyche, carving both their country's landscape and the character of the people who live here. In Iceland, water is cherished and protected as a sacred medicine—the holy source that gives and sustains all life—and respected as a force of nature that can take your life away at any given moment if you are not careful.

6 Facts You Didn't Know About Icelandic Water

  1. In many countries, wasting water is a sure fire way of acting morally inefficient and generally irritating members of the household who too would like to take a shower in the morning. Thankfully, Iceland doesn't have that problem, given the sheer amount of energy pulsating beneath the country's surface. Here, electricity, water, power, heat... all are in high supply and surprisingly cheap to maintain.
  2. Iceland has an abundance of swimming pools, one for almost every urban district. In the Capital Region alone, there as 16 plus pools to be explored, ensuring that you’ll end your day crinkled like a prune.
  3. One of Iceland’s greatest attractions are the natural, geothermally heated pools that dot the island. Iceland is a very young country, geologically speaking, with constant changes in how the rock formations move and sculpt the earth's surface. Cracks and ridges are common sightings, as are areas exposed to the bubbling, underbelly of the planet. It is this heat from beneath the surface that keeps Iceland's geothermal pools so warm and relaxing.
  4. Did you know that you can drink the tap water in Iceland? You should do... it is, after all, found in almost every article on the internet about travelling in Iceland. And yet, time and again, it is typically obvious that some people are still unaware, or perhaps even afraid, of what's coming out of the tap here.
  5. One of the most important water deities in Norse mythology, Ægir, is first mentioned in the Prose Edda, a medieval saga written by medieval Icelandic poet, Snorri Sturluson. Ægir is considered to be a Jötunn (a contrast to being a God) and is described as a giant with white hair and a long beard. Widely considered Lord of the Ocean, Ægir is married to the sea Goddess, Rán, with whom they had nine children, the Daughters of Ægir.
  6. The sheer variety of water-based activities available in Iceland almost defies imagination, especially considering the rather chilly air and water temperature. And yet, visitors here cannot only partake in scuba diving and snorkling tours - but also surfing, glacier hiking, whale watching, boat tours, ice-caving, ice-climbin and so much more.

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