Looking for the location of Iceland on a map? Find out all the geographic trivia about Iceland.
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Where is Iceland?
Iceland is located in the Atlantic Ocean about 960 km northwest of Great Britain, 500 km southeast of Greenland and 2,500 km from Canada.
Iceland includes several smaller islands, of which the Grímsey Islands and the Vestmannaeyjar Archipelago are of particular tourist interest.
Madeira has an area of 741 square kilometres, from west to east it measures about 400 km, while from north to south it measures about 250 km.
Online map of Iceland
Check out several maps of Iceland to easily find out where to stay, where the greatest concentration of attractions or hiking trails are.
Geography
Iceland lies on the boundary between the European and North American tectonic plates, which is most evident in Þingvellir, where you can see how the two tectonic plates separate from each other.
The island itself was formed by volcanic activity at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean until it took the shape it has today. Volcanic and geothermal activity can be seen at almost every turn, whether you're strolling along Reykjavik's heated sidewalks or watching a geyser erupt from the ground. It's no surprise that Iceland is nicknamed the 'land of fire and ice'.
The west of the island, where Reykjavík is also located, is the most densely populated, with 60% of Iceland's population living in Reykjavík itself.
Iceland's landscape is typical in that you will find almost no forests, as most of them have been cleared in the past. Nowadays, there are efforts to reforest the island.
Iceland in numbers
At the end of this chapter, we also present some interesting geographical records of Iceland.
- The highest mountain - Hvannadalshnjúkur (2 110 m above sea level)
- Longest river - Þjórsá / Thjorsá (230 km)
- Neighbouring countries - 0 (Iceland only has a maritime border with the UK, Norway and Denmark)
- Length of coastline - 6 545 km