Church in Akureyri, northern Iceland

[The_Traveler]

Church in Akureyri, northern Iceland, about 60 km from Arctice Circle. Beautiful smallish town with much more to see and appreciate than one would think with a population of 15,000.

Iceland has about 300,000 people with 60% of the population in the capitol area of Reykjavik which is only 1% of the land area and the rest strung out in small towns generally not too far from the coast or the fyords. The center of the island, is snowy, icy with two glaciers, a volcano and lots of fast running river.

While it is mild, considering how far north it is, the temp chart below is enlightening; the warmest day ever was 74. It was in the 40's in Akuyreri and the 30's when we were further inland - and always with a very strong wind.

 

[scooter2044]

Love the symmetry in this shot! Iceland is first on my bucket list. I would love to see the waterfalls and the Mid Atlantic Ridge. Is there much vegetation growing there? I see trees in your photo but most photos I see don't show much.

 

[The_Traveler]

Not much vegetation at all.
Most that was there were these spindly bush kinds of things and the very ocassional stand of small trees, obviously planted for the future.
In Akureyri, one parking lots had a ring of medium size, heavy branched evergreens.
Many places used wood interiors, evidently imported from the other Scandinavian countries.
Evidently the early Icelanders deforested what percentage of the land that had trees. Forestry in a treeless land | Skógrækt ríkisins
It is certainly bare now, the porous soil, fairly constant wind and lack of warm summers seems to inhibit any regrowth.