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Hekla

(Encyclopedia)Hekla hĕkˈlä [key], volcano, 4,892 ft (1,491 m) high, SW Iceland. Since the early 11th cent. more than 20 eruptions have been recorded; the worst occurred in 1766 and the most recent in 1947. Hekla...

Aresson, Jon

(Encyclopedia)Aresson, Areson, or Arason, Jon all: yōn äˈrĕsôn [key], 1484?–1550, Icelandic churchman. The last Roman Catholic bishop in Iceland before the Reformation, he was executed together with his sons...

Keflavík

(Encyclopedia)Keflavík kĕpˈlävēkˌ [key], town (1993 pop. 7,584), SW Iceland, on the Faxaflói, W of Reykjavík. It is a major fishing port, best known for its large international airport, which was built by t...

Arctic Council

(Encyclopedia)Arctic Council, intergovernmental forum established to promote cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the arctic nations, with the involvement of indigenous peoples and others inhabiting the...

European Free Trade Association

(Encyclopedia)European Free Trade Association (EFTA), customs union and trading bloc; its current members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. EFTA was established in 1960 by Austria, Denmark, Great...

Edda

(Encyclopedia)Edda ĕdˈə [key], title applied to two distinct works in Old Icelandic. The Poetic Edda, or Elder Edda, is a collection (late 13th cent.) of 34 mythological and heroic lays, most of which were compo...

Thule , ancient name for extreme N Europe

(Encyclopedia)Thule tho͞oˈlē [key], name given by the ancients to the most northerly land of Europe. It was an island discovered and described (c.310 b.c.) by the Greek navigator Pytheas and variously identified...

Geysir

(Encyclopedia)Geysir gāˈsĭr [key], hot spring, SW Iceland, c.75 mi (120 km) W of Reykjavík. Although in medieval times it erupted three times daily, weeks now elapse between eruptions. The height and temperatur...

geyser

(Encyclopedia)geyser gīˈzər [key] [Icel.], hot spring from which water and steam are ejected periodically to heights ranging from a few to several hundred feet. Notable geysers are found in Iceland, New Zealand,...

Old Norse literature

(Encyclopedia)Old Norse literature, the literature of the Northmen, or Norsemen, c.850–c.1350. It survives mainly in Icelandic writings, for little medieval vernacular literature remains from Norway, Sweden, or D...