My World Factbook
(Learn more about the new, improved World Factbook)
Note: Most information adapted from the popular World Factbook is distributed between the websites GeoWorld (geography, people, communications & transportation), Politix (government) and Great Depression II (economy).
Geography
Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the United Kingdom
65 00 N, 18 00 W
Area: 
total: 103,000 sq km
country comparison to the world: 
107
land: 100,250 sq km
water: 2,750 sq km
slightly smaller than Kentucky
0 km
4,970 km
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Current Weather
temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers
mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Hvannadalshnukur 2,110 m (at Vatnajokull glacier)
fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite
arable land: 0.07%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.93% (2005)
NA
170 cu km (2005)
total: 0.17 cu km/yr (34%/66%/0%)
per capita: 567 cu m/yr (2003)
earthquakes and volcanic activity
volcanism: Iceland, situated on top of a hotspot, experiences severe volcanic activity; Eyjafjallajokull (elev. 1,666 m, 5,466 ft) erupted in 2010, sending ash high into the atmosphere and seriously disrupting European air traffic; scientists continue to monitor nearby Katla (elev. 1,512 m, 4,961 ft), which has a high probability of eruption in the very near future, potentially disrupting air traffic; Grimsvotn and Hekla are Iceland’s most frequently active volcanoes; other historically active volcanoes include Askja, Bardarbunga, Brennisteinsfjoll, Esjufjoll, Hengill, Krafla, Krisuvik, Kverkfjoll, Oraefajokull, Reykjanes, Torfajokull, and Vestmannaeyjar
water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Transboundary Air Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - 
