| Basic Facts Capital:
Reykjavik
Population 2001: 283.000
President (since 1996): Mr. Ólafur Ragnar GRÍMSSON
Prime Minister (since 2004): Mr. Halldór Ásgrímsson
Currency: Icelandic kronurs (1US$ = 84,89 ISK as per 1. Aug 2002)
Total area: 39,756 square miles, slightly smaller than the State of
Virginia.
Location: Island nation in North Atlantic, 5½ hrs. flight from New York
City.
Form of Government: Republic since June 17 1944. Independent since
December 1 1918.
Brief History of Iceland
 The
first people known to have inhabited Iceland were Irish monks who
settled there in the eight century, but left with the arrival of the
pagan Norsemen, who systematically settled Iceland in the period 870-930
AD. Iceland was thus the last European country to be settled.
The main source of information about the settlement period in Iceland is
the Landnamabok (Book of Settlements), written in the 12th century,
which gives a detailed account of the first settlers. According to this
book Ingolfur Arnarson was the first settler. He was a chieftain from
Norway, arriving in Iceland with his family and dependents in 874. He
built his farm in Reykjavik, the site of the present capital. During the
next 60 years or so Viking settlers from Scandinavia, bringing some
Celtic people with them, spread their homesteads over the habitable
areas.
In the year 930, at the end of the Settlement period, a constitutional
law code was accepted and the Althingi established. The judicial power
of the Althingi was distributed between 4 local courts and a Supreme
Court of sorts was conducted annually at the national assembly at
Thingvellir.
 In
the year 1000 Christianity was peacefully adopted by the Icelanders at
the Althingi, which met for two weeks every summer, attracting a large
proportion of the population. The first bishopric was established at
Skalholt in South Iceland in 1056, and a second at Holar in the north in
1106. Both became the country's main centers of learning.
In the late tenth century Greenland was discovered and
colonized by the Icelanders under the leadership of Erik the Red, and
around the year 1000 the Icelanders were the first Europeans to set foot
on the American continent, 500 years before Columbus, although their
attempts to settle in the New World failed.
In 1262-1264 internal feuds, amounting to a civil war,
led to submission to the king of Norway and a new monarchical code in
1271. When Norway and Denmark formed the Kalmar Union in 1397, Iceland
fell under the sovereignty of the King of Denmark. 
After the "Golden Age" of independent Iceland ended,
things went from bad to worse. The Danish kings brought about the
Reformation of the Church in 1551, which resulted in Danish control over
the Church, and confiscation of its great wealth. They replaced the
Hansa and English trade with an oppressive Danish trade monopoly, and
established absolute monarchy in 1662, thus transferring all governing
power to Copenhagen. While this arrangement was very profitable for the
Danish Crown, these changes were disastrous for the Icelandic economy.
Further problems arose in the food supply due to cooling of the climate
during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The eighteenth century marked the most tragic age in
Iceland's history. In 1703, when the first complete census was taken,
the population was approximately 50,000, of whom about 20% were beggars
and dependents. From 1707 to 1709 the population sank to about 35,000
because of a devastating smallpox epidemic. Twice again the population
declined below 40,000, both during the years 1752-57 and 1783-85, owing
to a series of famines and natural disasters. 
At the end of the 18th century the Althingi had
dissolved and the old diocese replaced by one bishop residing in
Reykjavik. As a consequence of the plight of the populace the trade
monopoly was modified in 1783 and all subjects of the Danish king were
given the right to trade in Iceland. In 1843 the Althingi was
reestablished as a consultative assembly. In 1854 foreign trade was
given entirely free. In 1874, when Iceland celebrated the millennium of
the first settlement, it received a constitution from the Danish king
and control of its own finances.
In 1904 Iceland got home rule and finally in 1918
independence. Finally, on June 17 1944, the Republic of Iceland was
formally proclaimed at Thingvellir.
Calendar of Historical Events
874-930: Iceland is settled, mainly from Norway but
also from the Viking areas of the British Isles.
930: The Althingi is established - now the world's
oldest existing national assembly - at Thingvellir. Iceland's republican
system of government was unique in its day.
930-1030: "Saga Age".
982: Erik ("the Red") Thorvaldsson discovers
Greenland.
1000: Christianity is adopted peacefully by a decision
of the Althingi at Thingvellir. The Icelander Leif ("the Lucky")
Eriksson becomes the first European to set foot in America.
1003: Birth of Snorri Thorfinnsson on the East coast
of North-America, the first European-American. He was the son of the
Icelandic immigrants Thorfinnur Karlsefni Thordarson (Leif Eriksson’s
brother-in law) and his wife Gudridur Thorbjornsdottir.
1030-1120: "Age of Peace".
1120-1230: "Age of Writing".
1230-1264: "Sturlung Age".
1241: Snorri Sturluson is killed.
13th Century: "Golden Age" when the Icelandic Sagas
are written. The Sagas include some of the classics of world medieval
literature and are written in the ancient Viking language which is still
spoken in Iceland today.
1262: Iceland becomes part of the Norwegian crown.
1380: Iceland, with Norway, becomes part of the Danish
crown.
1402-1404: Black Death plague.
1537: Norway is dissolved as a state (until 1814) and
becomes part of Denmark. Iceland comes directly under the King of
Denmark.
1540-1550: The Reformation.
1602: Royal trade monopoly.
1783-1785: The disastrous Lakagigar eruption.
1787: Trade monopoly is extended to all Danish
subjects.
1800: The Althingi is dissolved.
1818: The National Library is founded.
1843: The Althingi is re-established as a consultative
body.
1854: Monopoly on foreign trade is entirely removed.
1863: The National Museum is founded.
1874: Millennium of the settlement of Iceland is
celebrated at Thingvellir. A Constitution is granted by the King of
Denmark.
1879: Jon Sigurdsson, the leader of the independence
movement, dies.
1904: Home rule. Appointment of the first Icelandic
government minister, Hannes Hafstein.
1911: The University of Iceland is founded.
1918: Act of Crown Union with Denmark, Iceland becomes
an independent, sovereign state, with the Danish King as head of state.
1920: The Supreme Court is founded.
1930: Millennium of the establishment of the Althingi
Parliament is celebrated at Thingvellir.
1940: Iceland is occupied by British forces.
1941: US forces take over the defense of Iceland.
Iceland becomes the first foreign country where US troops are deployed
before Pearl Harbor during the Second World War.
1944: June 17. The Republic of Iceland is established
at Thingvellir, following a referendum in which 97% of the population
voted in favor of cutting ties with the Danish Crown.
1945: The first international flight by an Icelandic
aircraft.
1946: Iceland joins the United Nations.
1947: Iceland becomes a founding member of the OEEC
(forerunner of OECD).
1949: Iceland joins NATO.
1950: Iceland joins the Council of Europe. National
Theater and Symphony Orchestra founded.
1951: A defense agreement is concluded between Iceland
and the US.
1952: Iceland joins the Nordic Council. Fishery limits
are extended to 4 miles.
1958: Fishery limits are extended to 12 miles.
1970: Iceland joins EFTA.
1971: Arrival of the first Icelandic manuscripts from
Copenhagen.
1972: Fishery limits are extended to 50 miles.
1973: A volcanic eruption in Heimaey, the only
inhabited island in the Westmann Islands.
1974: 1100th anniversary of the settlement of Iceland
is celebrated at Thingvellir.
1975: Fishery limits are extended to 200 miles.
1986: Reykjavik celebrates its bicentenary.
Reagan-Gorbachev Summit held in Reykjavik.
1994: 50th anniversary of the modern Icelandic
Republic. The agreement on a European Economic Area (EEA) takes effect,
giving Iceland full access to the internal market of the European Union
(EU). Government
Government
Iceland has a written constitution and a parliamentary
form of government. A president is elected by direct popular vote for a
term of four years, with no term limit. Most executive power however
rests with the Government, which is elected separately from the
presidential elections every four years.
The Althingi is a legislative body of 63 members
elected for a term of four years by a popular vote. Anyone who is
eligible to vote can run for a Parliamentary seat, with the exception of
the President and the judges of the Supreme Court. After every election,
the President gives one of the parliamentary leaders of the political
parties the authority to form a cabinet, usually of the largest party
first. If he is not successful, the President will ask another political
party leader to form a Government.
A cabinet of ministers stay in power until the next
general election or a new government is formed. The ministers sit in the
Althingi, but if they have not been elected, they do not have the right
to vote in parliament.
Population
Iceland was settled by Norsemen from Scandinavia and
Celts from the British Isles. Both the language and culture of Iceland
were purely Scandinavian from the outset, but there are traces of Celtic
influence in some of the Eddaic poems, in personal and place names and
in the appearance of present-day Icelanders who have a higher percentage
of the dark and red hair than the other Nordic nations.
The early blending of Nordic and Celtic blood may
partly account for the fact that the Icelanders, alone of all the Nordic
people, produced great literature in the Middle Ages. Immigration has
been minimal since the first settlement, and there are no Inuit
(Eskimos) in Iceland.
Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in
Europe with an average of about seven inhabitants per square mile.
Almost four-fifths of the country is uninhabited, the population being
limited to a narrow coastal belt, valleys and the lowland plains in the
south and southwest.
Around the year 1100 the population, then entirely
rural, is estimated to have been about 70 - 80,000. Three times in the
eighteenth century it sank below 40,000, as stated earlier, but by the
year 1900 it had reached 78,000. In 1925 it had passed the 100,000 mark,
in 1967 it reached 200,000 and is now over 280,000. The average life
expectancy for men is 74 years and for women 80 years - one of the
world's highest averages.
In 1880 there were only three towns in Iceland, where
5% of the population lived. By 1920 about 43% of the population lived in
towns and villages with more than 200 inhabitants. By 1984 there were 23
towns and 42 villages where 89.2% of the population lived, while only
10,8% lived in rural districts.
Language
Icelandic is the national language and it has changed
very little from the original tongue spoken by the Norse settlers.
English and Danish are widely spoken and understood. Icelandic has two
letters of its own, Þ/þ and Ð/ð, which were used in old English. "Þ" is
pronounced "th" as in "thing" and "Ð" is pronounced "th" as in "them".
By law, Icelanders must follow the ancient tradition
of deriving their last name from the first name of their father
(patronymic system). For example, if a man named Erik names his son
Leif, his last name will be Eriksson (the son of Erik). His daughter
Thordis would be named Thordis Eriksdaughter (actually Eiríksdóttir, the
daughter of Erik). She would keep her own name even if she marries. For
this reason, Icelanders always have to be referred to by their first
names. Last names are never used alone. Icelanders say, for example,
"the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson," or even "President
Ólafur," but never "President Grímsson". There is a limited number of
Icelanders who do have family names.
Religion
The established church in Iceland is the Evangelical
Lutheran Church. There are many Lutheran churches in Iceland. There is
also a Catholic church in Reykjavik, and a number of churches for other
groups. The breakdown is as follows - Church of Iceland: 92,2%; Other
Lutherans: 3,1%; Roman Catholics: 0,9%; Others: 3,8%.
Education
Literacy has been universal in Iceland since the end
of the eighteenth century. In 1907 school attendance was made obligatory
for all children aged 10-14. Before the age of ten they were generally
taught at home. In 1946 compulsory school attendance was extended, and
at present it covers the ages between seven and 16. Those who wish to
continue their education either go to various specialized schools or to
secondary schools.
Academic education in the full sense did not begin in
Iceland until 1847 with the formation of a Theological Seminary. It was
followed in 1876 by a Medical School and in 1908 by a School of Law.
These three institutions were merged into one in 1911 when the
University of Iceland was established. Later, a fourth Faculty of
Philosophy was added, primarily dealing with Icelandic philology,
history and literature. The university’s main building was opened in
1940.
Social Affairs
Since World War II Iceland has enjoyed a high standard
of living, comparable to that of the other Nordic countries. From 1901
to 1960 real national income rose ten-fold with an annual average rate
of growth just over 4 percent. During this period the national economy
underwent dramatic changes, transforming from a subsistence economy into
an exchange economy through rapid urbanization and other features of
industrialization. Today, the living standard is among the best in the
world and per capita income is comparable to that of the United States.
The quality of housing in Iceland is very high, while
the road system in the countryside is comparatively poorer than in
neighboring countries. This is mainly due to the large size of the
country and the small population.
Fisheries
Fish and fish products constitute more than 70% of
Iceland’s exports in goods and it is the most important industry. The
continental shelf around Iceland, where the warm Gulf Stream and the
cold currents from the Arctic meet, offers very favorable conditions for
various kinds of marine life, and are extremely rich fishing grounds.
The fishing grounds, which are Iceland’s main natural resource, require
strict conservation, and fish catches are tightly controlled. The main
species of fish are cod, haddock, saithe, redfish, herring and capelin.
Agriculture
Agricultural land in Iceland is mostly used for
growing grass for the making of hay and silage as fodder for livestock.
Sheep and dairy cattle make up the main livestock in Icelandic farming.
Industries
It is estimated that the potential total exploitable
hydro-electric power in Iceland amounts to 64,000 Gwh p.a., of which
45,000 Gwh p.a. are considered to be economical. However, only 4200 Gwh
p.a. were being utilized in 1990.
No one knows exactly how much geothermal power is
available in Iceland but it is without much doubt tremendous. In 1990
the exploited capacity had reached about 5000 Gwh p.a., bringing 81% of
the population geothermal heating for their houses. Power is therefore
among the most important resources in Iceland. Presently aluminum
accounts for about 11% of the country’s exports, while other
manufacturing products account for about 12%, including ferro-silicon.
Weather
Sayings like, "There is no weather in Iceland, only
samples" or "If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes,"
indicate the variability of the Icelandic climate. It is cool, temperate
and oceanic, influenced by the country’s location where the polar front
separates air currents of polar and tropical origin. The weather is
affected also by the confluence of two different ocean currents, the
Gulf Stream flowing clockwise around the south and west coasts, and the
East Greenland polar current curving southeastwards round the north and
east coasts, which meet off the southeast coast. A third element
affecting the climate is the Arctic drift ice brought by the polar
current, which occasionally blocks the north and east coasts in late
winter and early spring. The advance of drift ice causes a considerable
fall in the temperature and usually some decrease in precipitation.
Fluctuations in average annual temperature are more pronounced in
Iceland than most other places. In Britain, for instance, the deviation
is only one-third of that in Iceland.
For two to three months in summer there is continuous
daylight in Iceland, and early spring and late autumn enjoy long
twilights. The really dark period (three to four hours daylight) lasts
from about mid-November until the end of January.
The Icelandic Coat of Arms
 The
Icelandic Coat of Arms (as seen on page 1) is a silvery cross in a
sky-blue field with a fiery red cross in the silvery one. The
shield-bearers are the four guardian spirits of the land: A bull to the
right of the shield, a giant to the left, a vulture to the right above
the bull, and a dragon to the left above the giant. The shield rests on
a slab of basalt.
The Icelandic National Flag
 The
Icelandic National Flag is sky-blue (Color: SCOTDIC No. 693009) with a
snow-white (Color: SCOTDIC No. 95) cross and fiery red (Color: SCOTDIC
Iceland Flag Red) cross in the white cross. The arms of the crosses
extend entirely to the edges of the flag, and their width is 2/9th, but
the red cross is 1/9th of the width of the flag. The blue field is thus
divided into rectangular squares: Those nearest to the flag-pole are
equilateral and the outer squares are equally wide, but twice as long.
The proportional figures for the width and length of the flag are 18:25.
Geothermal Heat
Iceland is richer in hot springs and high-temperature
activity than any other country in the world. High-temperature activity
is limited to certain fields. They are characterized by steam vents, mud
pools, and precipitation of sulfur.
The main high-temperature areas are Torfa glacier east
of Hekla and Grims lakes in the Vatna glacier. Next in order of size are
Hengill near Reykjavik, which is now being exploited to provide hot
water for space heating in the capital, Kerlingar mountains, Náma
mountain, Kverk mountains and Krisu bay. The total power output of the
Torfa glacier area, which is the largest, is estimated to be equivalent
to 1,500 megawatts. Some of the high-temperature areas have workable
sulfur deposits.
Hot springs are found all over Iceland, but they are
rare in the eastern basalt area. There are about 250 low-temperature
geothermal areas with a total of about 800 hot springs. The average
temperature of their water is 75° Celsius (167° F). The biggest hot
spring in Iceland, Deildartunguhver, has a flow of 150 liters (40
gallons) of boiling water per second. Some of the hot springs are
spouting springs or geysers, the most famous being Geysir in Haukadalur
in south Iceland, from which the international word geyser is derived.
It ejects a water column to a height of about 180 feet, but has had
limited activity in recent years. Another renowned geyser in the same
field as Geysir is Strokkur, which spouts every few minutes. Springs
charged with carbon dioxide are to be found in some districts, mainly in
Snaefellsnes, but have not yet been utilized. Since the last Hekla
eruption, springs rising from under the new lava have also been found to
be charged with carbon dioxide.
Glaciers
Among the most distinctive features of Iceland are its
glaciers, which cover over 4,500 square miles (11,800 km²) or 11.5% of
the total area of the country. During the past few decades, however,
they have markedly thinned and retreated owing to a milder climate, and
some of the smaller ones have all but vanished.
By far the largest of the glacier caps is Vatna
glacier in southeast Iceland with an area of 3,240 square miles (8,400
km²), equal in size to all the glaciers on the European mainland put
together. It reaches a thickness of 3,000 feet (1 km). One of its
southern outlets, Breidamerkur glacier, descends to sea level.
Avalanches are common in the northwest, north and
east, where the steep mountain slopes, covered with deep snow, threaten
the inhabited areas. In many of those areas farms have been destroyed
and people killed by avalanches. A disaster of this kind occurred in the
town of Neskaupsstadur on the East coast in December 1974, when an
avalanche destroyed a large fish-processing plant and some houses,
killing thirteen people. On January 17, 1995 an avalanche killed 14
people in the small town of Sudavik on the West coast.
|
"smoke"
rose out of the ground. Therefore they called it Reykjavik -"Smoky Bay". But the
smoke after which Iceland's capital is named was not the result of a fire, but
was rather steam rising from hot springs. 
A
mixture of steam and geothermal brine is transported from the wells to a
central separation station. After being separated from the brine, the
steam is piped through moisture separators to steam heat exchangers
inside the plant building. The steam can be piped to steam turbines for
co-generation of electricity. Unutilized steam is released through a
steam exhaust. 
Due
to scaling, the geothermal fluid from the Nesjavellir field cannot be used
directly in the space heating distribution network. The power plant therefore
uses the geothermal energy to heat cold ground water indirectly in heat
exchangers. The heated water is treated so that it can be used directly in the
network. 
The wells discharge a mixture of water and steam, which is transported along the
two-phase pipes to a central separator station close to the power house instead
of a number of separators nearer to the wells. The two-phase pipes are therefore
relatively long, which is made possible by the high enthalpy of the well fluid
and favorable topography. 
120°C (2 bara), the maximum temperature that the EPDM material in the gaskets
can withstand for a longer period. They are manufactured by REHEAT in Sweden.
Each titanium heat exchanger is composed of 329 plates with a total heat
exchange surface area of 280 m2, whereas the stainless steel heat exchanger has
367 plates and heating surface of 312 m2. The heat transfer coefficient is
stated to be 4300 W/(m2K) for clean plates. 
sufficient
to supply space heating for a community with 7,500 inhabitants. 
