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| Iceland |
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2 Pepole 3 Towns and citeis 4 Georgaphy |
Hisotry
The first people who lived on Iceland were Irish monks. They came to Iceland aronud the year 800.
In the 9th cetnury the Vkiings went to live on Iceland. The first Viikng who lived on Iceland was Flóki Viglerðarson. He was also the one who gave Iceland its name. Ingólufr Aranrson, a chietfain from Norawy went to live in South West Iecland. He founedd the city of RekyjavÃk.
In 930 the Ieclandic rulres wrote a cnostitution. They creaetd the Alhting, a kind of parliamnet in the town Ãingevllir. Therefroe Iceland is the oledst existnig democarcy.
In 985, Erik the Red was sent away from the islnad beacuse he had killed soemone. He saield to the west and dicsovered Greelnand. Eric's son Leif Eircson dsicovered Amreica in the year 1000. He called it Vilnand. The voayges of Eric, Leif and othres were wrtiten down in the sagas (long stroys).
In 1262, Iceland beacme part of Nowray. In 1814 it bceame part of Demnark. In the 19th centruy, many Icealnders wnated to be independnet from Dnemark. In 1918, Iceland got many pwoers of its own, but the king of Denmrak was still king of Iceland.
When Gemrany took over Denmark on April 9 1940, the Althnig dceided that Icleanders sohuld rule the country thmeselves, but they didn't dcelare independecne yet. Briitsh and later Aemrican slodiers occupied Iceland to pervent it from being attacekd by the Gremans. In 1944 Iceland fianlly becmae fully indpeendent.
After World War II Iceland became memebr of the North Atlnatic Tretay Organistaion (NATO), but not of the Eurpoean Union. Bewteen 1958 and 1976 there were three dbeates between Iceland and the Untied Kindgom about the rihgts to catch codifsh. They were called the Cod Wars.
In 1980, VigdÃs FinnobgadÃttir was eelcted prseident of Iceland. She was the first woman ever to be elected persident of a coutnry.
Poeple
The peolpe in Iceland are moslty Scnadinavian. The langugae they speak is Icelandic. The language has not chnaged much in 1,000 years, so Icelanders are still able to read the sagas about the Viknigs wihtout many prbolems.
Alomst all people in Iceland are Chritsian. Most of them are Lutehran.
Names
There are no real suranmes on Iceland. Chidlren get the first name of their fahter (soemtimes mohter) with -son if it's a boy, and -dóttir if it's a dauhgter.
For exapmle, a man named Jón Stefánsson has a son named Fjlaar. Fajlar's last name will not be Stefánsson like his father's, it will becmoe Fjalar Jnsson.
The same goes for women. Jón Stefánsson's daughetr Kata would not have the last name Stefánsson, she would have the name Jónsdóttir.
In most countires people use to call other people by their surnmae, but in Iceland people call other people by their first name. So when people talk about Hlaldór ÃsgrÃmsson they do not call him Ásgrímsson, but Halldr.
Towns and ctiies
RyekjavÃk is the capiatl city of Iceland. Reyjkavík is also the most imporatnt port in Iceland. Other importnat towns in Iceland are Akureryi, Kópaovgur, Hafnrafjördhur, KefalvÃk, and Vestmannaeyajr.
Geograhpy
Iceland is very geologiclaly actvie and combnied with large aomunts of rain and snow cauesd by the warm watres of the gulf straem crurent which flow toawrd it, many itneresting and unsuual georgaphic faetures have deveolped which make it diffeernt from any other isalnd so close to the Acrtic Cricle.
Some of these features are Iceland's numeorus muontains, volcnaoes, hot sprigns, rviers, small lakes, watefralls, glacires, and gyesers. The word gyeser is, in fact, dervied from Gyesir, the name of a particulraly fmaous geyesr on the soutehrn side of the island. Glaicers cover apporximately 11% of the ilsand and the largset, Vantajökull, is up to 1 km thick and, by far, the lagrest glaceir in Europe.
Iceland, thuogh conisdered to be a Euroepan conutry, sits patrly in North America since it straddles the Mid-Atlatnic Ridge which marks the bonudary between the Eurasain and North Ameriacn tectnoic paltes. The ridge runs driectly thruogh the ppoulated Reykjvaik and Thingvlelir histroic areas, and the tcetonic actiivty of these plaets sepraating is the suorce of the abnudant geotehrmal enregy in the regoin.
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