Iceland Portal

Geography Iceland is the world's 18th largest island, and Europe's second largest island following Great Britain. The main island is 101,826 km² but the entire country is 103,000 km² (39,768.5 sq mi) in size, [ ... ] + Full Story

Climate The climate of Iceland's coast is subpolar oceanic. The warm North Atlantic Current ensures generally higher annual temperatures than in most places of similar latitude in the world. Regions in the w [ ... ] + Full Story

Few plants and animals have migrated to the island or evolved locally since the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. There are around 1,300 known species of insects in Iceland, which is a rather low number compared with other countries (over one million species have been described worldwide).

The only native land mammal when humans arrived was the Arctic Fox, which came to the island at the end of the ice age, walking over the frozen sea. There are no native reptiles or amphibians on the island. Phytogeographically, Iceland belongs to the Arctic province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Iceland belongs to the ecoregion of Iceland boreal birch forests and alpine tundra. Approximately three-quarters of the island are barren of vegetation; plant life consists mainly of grassland which is regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Iceland is the Northern Birch Betula pubescens, which formerly formed forest over much of Iceland along with "Aspen" (Populus Tremola), "Rowan uot; (Sorbus Aucuparia) and "Common Juniper" (Juniperus communis) and other smaller trees. Permanent human settlement greatly disturbed the isolated ecosystem of thin, volcanic soils and limited species diversity. The forests were heavily exploited over the centuries for firewood and timber. Deforestation caused a loss of critical topsoil due to erosion, greatly reducing the ability of birches to grow back. Today, only a few small birch stands exist in isolated reserves. The planting of new forests has increased the number of trees, but does not compare to the original forests. Some of the planted forests include new foreign species. The animals of Iceland include the Icelandic sheep, cattle, chicken, goat and the sturdy Icelandic horse. Many varieties of fish live in the ocean waters surrounding Iceland, and the fishing industry is a main contributor to Iceland's economy, accounting for more than half of its total exports. Wild mammals include the Arctic Fox, mink, mice, rats, rabbits and reindeer. Polar bears occasionally visit the island, travelling on icebergs from Greenland. In May 2008 two polar bears came only two weeks apart. Birds, especially seabirds, are a very important part of Iceland's animal life. Puffins, skuas, and kittiwakes nest on its sea cliffs. In Iceland commercial whaling is practiced along with scientific whale hunts.