Iceland,anislandaboutthesizeofKentucky,liesinthenorthAtlanticOceaneastofGreenlandandjusttouchestheArcticCircle.Itisoneofthemostvolcanicregionsintheworld.Morethan13%iscoveredbysnowfieldsandglaciers,andmostofthepeopleliveinthe7%oftheislandthatismadeupoffertilecoastland.TheGulfStreamkeepsIceland"sclimatemilderthanonewouldexpectfromanislandneartheArcticCircle.

　　Location:NorthernEurope,islandbetweentheGreenlandSeaandtheNorthAtlanticOcean,northwestoftheUK

　　Geographiccoordinates:6500N,1800W

　　Mapreferences:ArcticRegion

　　Area:total:103,000sqkm

　　water:2,750sqkm

　　land:100,250sqkm

　　Area-comparative:slightlysmallerthanKentucky

　　Landboundaries:0km

　　Coastline:4,988km

　　Maritimeclaims:continentalshelf:200NMortotheedgeofthecontinentalmargin

　　territorialsea:12NM

　　exclusiveeconomiczone:200NM

　　Climate:temperate;moderatedbyNorthAtlanticCurrent;mild,windywinters;damp,coolsummers

　　Terrain:mostlyplateauinterspersedwithmountainpeaks,icefields;coastdeeplyindentedbybaysandfiords

　　Elevationextremes:lowestpoint:AtlanticOcean0m

　　highestpoint:Hvannadalshnukur2,119m

　　Naturalresources:fish,hydropower,geothermalpower,diatomite

　　Landuse:arableland:0.06%

　　permanentcrops:0%

　　other:99.94%(23%permanentpastures)(1998est.)

　　Irrigatedland:NAsqkm

　　Naturalhazards:earthquakesandvolcanicactivity

　　Environment-currentissues:waterpollutionfromfertilizerrunoff;inadequatewastewatertreatment

　　Environment-internationalagreements:partyto:AirPollution,Biodiversity,ClimateChange,Desertification,EndangeredSpecies,HazardousWastes,LawoftheSea,MarineDumping,NuclearTestBan,OzoneLayerProtection,ShipPollution,Wetlands

　　signed,butnotratified:AirPollution-PersistentOrganicPollutants,EnvironmentalModification,MarineLifeConservation

　　Geography-note:strategiclocationbetweenGreenlandandEurope;westernmostEuropeancountry;Reykjavikisthenorthernmostnationalcapitalintheworld;morelandcoveredbyglaciersthaninallofcontinentalEurope