1. fun facts about iceland population: ~260,000, 65% in Reykjavik (Boston proper: ~595,000) area: approximately size of (uk – scotland) less than 1/3 of land inhabitable

2. national language: icelandic, a form of ancient norwegian. carefully protected by government largely unchanged for past 1500 years ancient name system still in use

3. economics: pre-1960, iceland was largely considered a 3 rd world country since then, geothermal energy allowed country to grow largely self-subsistent

4. today: geothermal energy used for nearly everything now transitioning to hydrogen-based vehicles

5. Iceland is located on the mid-atlantic ridge, at the intersection of America and Eurasia fastest “growing” country in the world, tectonic plates spreading at 2+cm/year.

6. Iceland is located on the mid-atlantic ridge, at the intersection of America and Eurasia over 100 volcanoes in Iceland 10 “extremely active”, last major eruption in 2001 the 24-hr canyon: The canyon at Gullfoss is believed by geologists to have been created over a period of 24 hours by a glacier exploding

7. the land of Bjork: Bjork performed a concert here in an ancient volcanic crater