Why Iceland Is A European Country Even Though It Is In North America.
Why Iceland Is A European Country Even Though It Is In North America.
By Rowlandgate.
Here is a picture of me standing on a foot bridge. The temperature was about −5 °C with the steady component of the wind blowing about 20 m/s. The bridge is only about 15 m long but it has a name: Bru Milli Heimsalfa (Bridge Between Continents). The rocks in the background are part of the North American Plate; the rocks in the lower right corner holding up one end of the bridge are part of the Eurasian Plate. (Location coordinates +63.8683°−22.6754°)
The next photograph is taken from the bridge looking west (there is a sliver of the Atlantic Ocean along the horizon), The Eurasian Plate is on the left and the North American Plate is on the right with a miniature rift valley between them. That valley is supposedly the surface boundary between the two plates.
The following is a map at the site showing the major tectonic plates in the world and how two major places meet at Iceland and are a cause of the volcanic and earthquake activity, as well as the geysers, that occur there.
There are other places in Iceland where one can see the rift. Thus, geologically, Iceland is partly in North America, but more of it is in Europe. Contrary, to some of the other answers, Iceland is not strictly on a European landmass nor on a strictly North American landmass, but it straddles the boundary, with more on the European side. However, as other answers have noted quite well, there is more than just geology involved.
The Icelanders identify more closely with Europe than with North America; the residents are originally from “traditional” Europe and never did enough long term farther west to shift their identity like the Americans did. There is much closer interaction by Iceland with Europe than with North America, largely because of relative distance and historical cultural ties. Icelanders conduct far more trade of goods and services with continental Europe than with North America.
