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Portal:Iceland/Selected article/1

Surtsey, sixteen days after the onset of the eruption.
Surtsey (Icelandic: "Surtur's island") is a volcanic island off the southern coast of Iceland. At 63.30° N 20.62° W it is also the southernmost point of Iceland. It was formed in a volcanic eruption which began 130 metres below sea level, and reached the surface on 14 November 1963. The eruption may have started a few days earlier and lasted until 5 June 1967, when the island reached its maximum size of 2.7 km². Since then, wind and wave erosion has seen the island steadily diminish in size: as of 2005 it is only 1.4 km² in size.

The new island was named after the fire giant Surtur from Norse mythology, and was intensively studied by volcanologists during its creation and, since the end of the eruption, has been of great interest to botanists and biologists as life has gradually colonised the originally barren island. The undersea vents that produced Surtsey are part of the Vestmannaeyjar (Westmann Isles) submarine volcanic system, part of the fissure of the sea floor called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Vestmannaeyjar also produced the famous eruption of Eldfell on the island of Heimaey in 1973. The eruption that created Surtsey also created a few other small islands along this volcanic chain, such as Jólnir and other unnamed peaks. Most of these eroded away fairly quickly.

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The pond in Reykjavík.
Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland, its largest city, and the world's most northern national capital (its latitude being 64°08' N, not far from the Arctic Circle). It receives only four hours of daylight per day in the depth of winter, and during the summer the nights are almost as bright as the days.

Reykjavík is located in southwest Iceland at the shores of Faxaflói bay. The Reykjavík area coastline is characterized by peninsulas, coves, straits and islands. The population of Reykjavík in 2005 was 114,800, the combined population of the Greater Reykjavík Area being about 190,000.

The first permanent settlement in Iceland by Nordic people is believed to have been established in Reykjavík by Ingólfur Arnarson around AD 870; this is described in Landnámabók, or the Book of Settlement. Ingólfur Arnarson is said to have decided the location of his settlement using a traditional viking method; by dumping his high seat pillars, Öndvegissúlur, in the ocean when he saw the coastline and then settled where the pillars came to shore. Steam from hot springs in the region is supposed to have inspired Reykjavík's name, as Reykjavík translates to "Bay of Smokes".

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19th-century rendering of the Law Rock in Þingvellir.
The Althing is the national parliament: literally, the "all-thing" of Iceland. It was founded in 930 at Þingvellir, (the "assembly fields" or "Parliament Plains"), situated some 45 km east of what would later become the country's capital, Reykjavík, and this event marked the beginning of the Icelandic Commonwealth. Even after Iceland's union with Norway, the Althing still held its sessions at Þingvellir until 1799, when it was discontinued for some decades. It was restored in 1844 and moved to Reykjavík, where it has resided ever since. The present parliament building, the Alþingishús, was built in 1881, of hewn Icelandic stone.

The constitution of Iceland provides for six electoral constituencies with the possibility of an increase to seven. The constituency boundaries are fixed by legislation. Each constituency elects nine members. In addition, each party is allocated seats based on its proportion of the overall national vote in order that the number of members in parliament for each political party should be more or less proportional to its overall electoral support. A party must have won at least five percent of the national vote in order to be eligible for these proportionally distributed seats. Political participation in Iceland is very high: usually over 85 per cent of the electorate casts a ballot (87.7% in 2003). The current president of the Althing is Sólveig Pétursdóttir.

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First page of Hrafnkels saga
Hrafnkels saga is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It tells of struggles between chieftains and farmers in the east of Iceland in the 10th century. The eponymous main character, Hrafnkell, starts out his career as a fearsome duellist and a dedicated worshiper of the god Freyr. After suffering defeat, humiliation, and the destruction of his temple, he becomes an atheist. His character changes and he becomes more peaceful in dealing with others. After gradually rebuilding his power base for several years, he achieves revenge against his enemies and lives out the rest of his life as a powerful and respected chieftain.

The saga has been interpreted as the story of a man who arrives at the conclusion that the true basis of power does not lie in the favor of the gods but in the loyalty of one's subordinates. It remains widely read today and is appreciated for its logical structure, plausibility, and vivid characters. For these reasons, it has served as a test case in the dispute on the origins of the Icelandic sagas.

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lava fountains tower over Heimaey in the early stages of the Eldfell eruption
Eldfell is a cinder cone volcano just over 200 metres (650 feet) high on the Icelandic island of Heimaey. It formed in a volcanic eruption which began without warning just outside the town of Heimaey on January 23, 1973. Its name means Fire Mountain in Icelandic.

The eruption caused a major crisis for the island and nearly led to its permanent evacuation. Volcanic ash fell over most of the island, destroying many houses, and a lava flow threatened to close off the harbour, the island's main income source via its fishing fleet. An operation was mounted to cool the advancing lava flow by pumping sea water onto it, which was successful in preventing the loss of the harbour.

Following the end of the eruption, the islanders used the heat from the slowly cooling lava flows to provide hot water and to generate electricity. They also used some of the extensive tephra, fall-out of airborne volcanic material, to extend the runway at the island's small airport, and as landfill on which 200 new houses were built.

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In prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme.

The most intensively studied traditions of alliterative verse are those found in the oldest literature of many Germanic languages. Alliterative verse, in various forms, is found widely in the literary traditions of the early Germanic languages. The Old English epic Beowulf, as well as most other Old English poetry, the Old High German Muspilli, the Old Saxon Heliand, and the Old Norse Poetic Edda all use alliterative verse.

Alliterative verse can be found in many other languages as well, although rarely with the systematic rigor of Germanic forms. The Finnish Kalevala and the Estonian Kalevipoeg both use alliterative forms derived from folk tradition. Traditional Turkic verse, for example that of the Uyghur, is also alliterative.

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The Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant
Renewable energy in Iceland has supplied over 70% of Iceland's primary energy needs since 1999, proportionally more than any other country. The remainder of its energy needs are produced from imported oil and coal. Iceland is at the forefront of renewable energy research and plans to become the world's first hydrogen economy, with all of their private automobiles, fishing boats, and public transportation running on hydrogen fuel. This would make Iceland the first completely energy-independent country in the world, using 100% renewable energy sources.

Of the 99.9% of Iceland's electricity that is currently generated from renewable sources, 81% is generated from hydroelectric power; virtually all the remainder from geothermal power. Geothermal sources are also used to heat 89% of the households in Iceland, with the remaining being heated with electricity. The nation ranked 53rd in the list of countries by carbon dioxide emissions per capita (2003), emitting 62% less than the United States per capita, despite using more primary energy per capita.

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Varangian Guardsmen
Bolli Bollason was a key historical character in the Medieval Icelandic Laxdœla saga, born around 1006 in Orlygsstadir, at Helgafell on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. He was held in the highest regard among the contemporary Scandinavian rulers, and also in the Byzantine Empire, where he became the first known West Norseman in the Varangian Guard. It is believed that he had reached the rank of "Manglabites" in the Byzantine army, and on his return to Iceland, his finery and recognition earned him the name "Bolli the Elegant".

His importance in the literary context of the saga is his prominence as the son of Bolli Þorleiksson and Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, the two central characters of the work. In addition to this role, his own tale, the Bollaþáttur, was later appended to the end of the manuscripts in the early 14th century.

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Jaguar XKR used by the villain
Die Another Day, released in 2002, is the twentieth film in the James Bond series and the fourth and final to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional British Secret Service agent Commander James Bond. In the film, Bond is betrayed after killing a rogue North Korean Colonel and captured. Once released in a prisoner exchange, he must follow a trail of clues in an effort to reveal the MI6 leak and soon learns that the villain he is pursuing is the same North Korean Colonel he supposedly killed. James then must prevent a satellite from igniting a war between North and South Korea.

Die Another Day was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Lee Tamahori. Being the twentieth James Bond film and also being released in the year of the film franchise's fortieth Anniversary, it includes references to each of the preceding films and additionally alludes to several Bond novels. The film was primarily shot in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Iceland

The film received mixed reviews, with some critics praising Lee Tamahori's work and others pointing out the damage caused by excessive CGI effects to the plot. Still, it became the highest grossing James Bond film of all time before being surpassed by Casino Royale in 2006.

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The system of education in Iceland is based upon the American system, and there are four levels: playschool, compulsory, upper secondary and higher. Education is mandatory for children aged 6–16. Most institutions are funded by the state; there are very few private schools in the country. There are 192 institutions catering for compulsory education, 42 schools for upper secondary education and 9 higher education institutions.

The oldest gymnasium in the country is Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík, which traces its origin to 1056, when a school was established in Skálholt. The school was moved to Reykjavík in 1786, but poor housing conditions forced it to move again in 1805 to Bessastaðir near Reykjavík. In 1846 the school was moved to its current location, and a new building was erected for it in Reykjavík. The University of Iceland was the first higher education institution in the country, and was established on 17 June 1911, uniting three former Icelandic schools: Prestaskólinn, Læknaskólinn and Lagaskólinn, which taught theology, medicine and law, respectively. The university originally had only faculties for these three fields, in addition to a faculty of humanities.

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Eruption, Krafla, 1984
The Iceland hotspot is a hotspot which is partly responsible for the high volcanic activity which has formed the island of Iceland. Iceland is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world, with eruptions occurring on average roughly every five years. About a third of the basaltic lavas erupted in recorded history have been produced by Icelandic eruptions. Notable eruptions have included that of Eldgjá in 984 (the world's largest basaltic eruption ever witnessed), Laki in 1783 (the world's second largest), and several eruptions beneath ice caps, which have generated devastating glacial bursts, most recently in 1996.

Iceland's location astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the Eurasian and North American Plates are moving apart, is partly responsible for this intense volcanic activity, but an additional cause is necessary to explain why Iceland is a substantial island while the rest of the ridge mostly consists of seamounts, with peaks below sea level. It is believed that a mantle plume must lie beneath the island, enhancing the volcanism already caused by plate separation. As well as driving volcanism in the centre of the island, the plume is also believed to feed magma to the Reykjanes ridge, another region of enhanced volcanism to the southwest of Iceland's main volcanic zone.

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Icelanders are the nation or ethnic group of Iceland descended primarily from Norseman of Scandinavia. The language spoken is Icelandic, a North Germanic language, and the religion is overwhelmingly Lutheran.

Icelanders, especially those living on the main island, have had a tumultuous history. Development of the island was slow due to a lack of interest from the countries controlling it for most of its history; Norway, Denmark–Norway and ultimately Denmark. Through this time, Iceland had relatively few contacts with the outside world. The island became independent in union with Denmark in 1918. Since 1944, Iceland has been a republic, and Icelandic society has undergone a rapid modernisation process in the post-independence era.

Due to the isolated location of Iceland, the immigration and genetic inflow was limited in its indigenous population for hundreds of years; thus the population was considered to be highly homogeneous in terms of its genes. This genetic similarity and unusually well-documented genealogy of the Icelanders are being utilized today for genetic studies.

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