Iceland

Quick facts

How to spot Iceland from satellite imagery

Iceland is one of the most aerially distinctive countries on Earth, partly because it is unlike anywhere else and partly because so little of it is covered in anything human. The country is small — 103,000 square kilometres, roughly the size of Kentucky — but it shows up in geography games more often than its size would suggest because the landscape is so recognisable. Volcanic plateaus, ice caps, lava fields, geothermal areas, and an almost entirely uninhabited interior produce satellite frames that no other country reproduces.

Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart at a rate of roughly two centimetres per year. That makes it one of the most volcanically and tectonically active places on Earth, with eruptions occurring on average every three to five years. This guide walks through the cues that lock Iceland in fast and tell you which part of the island you have landed on.

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