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Reykjavik. Ice/and
J
UST OVER
ten years ago,
a volcano suddenly ex–
ploded into life off the
coast of southern Ice–
land, on the island of
Heimaey.
The lava flow threatened to
engulf the island's only town,
and block the entrance to the
fi s hing harbor on wh ich the
economy of the island's commu–
nity depended.
What would you have done?
What the Jcelanders did ? Over–
night, the population of 5,000 evac–
uated to the mainland . But once the
worst of the eruption was ov.er, the
people of Heimaey did what most
people would not have done. They
began to fight back.
Not One Lazy Bone!
Day after day, for severa! months,
volunteers pumped sea water onto
the lava flow as it advanced toward
the harbor. The · icy water cooled
the molten rock, formi ng a barrier.
Then, as more lava piled up, a
breakwater was molded that actual–
ly improved the harbor.
Once again, the people of Ice–
land had pitted themselves against
potential catas trophe- and won!
But then, survival has been the
keynote of this little country's
1,000-year history. Few places on
earth have offered less encourage–
ment to permanent human settle–
ment. It is isolated in the Atlantic
Ocean, between Europe and North
America, just sou th of the Arctic
C ircle. Mos t of its land surface is
volcanic desert and glaciers-unin–
ha bited and uninhabitable. U .S .
astronauts actually did sorne of
their training for the lunar landings
on Iceland's central plateau , so
closely does it resemble the surface
of the moon.
Only one out of every hundred
square kilometers is really suitable
for cultivation. The landscape is
barren, windswept, and treeless.
The long, dark arctic winter and
short growing season makes tradi–
tional agriculture impossible. Hay
is about the only crop to be har–
vested successfully. The country is
devoid of all the mineral resources
necessary for a developed and civil–
ized nation . All its needed oil must
be imported . There are no rail–
roads, and outside of the capital,
most roads are unsealed .
·
With a one-crop economy, small
population, difficult climate and
geographical isolat ion, Iceland has
all the ingredients of a poverty–
s tricken, und e rdeveloped Third
World nation . But nothing could be
fu rther from the t ruth. lceland is a
prosperous, modern country, with a
standard of living that is one of the
highest in the world. Icelanders are
among the best-educated and long–
est-living people on earth.
Centuries of determination ,
courage and resourcefulness have
IN A NATION thst subdues snd hsr·
nesses the elements, we see, fsr left, top
to bottom, the smokeless old cíty of
Reykjsvik, lcelsnd's capital, looking
toward the ses. The city is the world's
most northerly msjor metropolis. As
urban populstíon incresses, traditionsl
homes are supplemented by modern
spsrtment blocks. From Reykjsvik one
msy proceed even in winter on one of the
few permsnently sesled surfaced rosds
through a typicsl ícefield, main photo, to
the town of Hversgerdi. Here the impor·
tsnce of geothermsl hesting-every·
where used in lcelsnd-is especial/y
apparent. In hothouses grow bananas,
grapes, tomatoes, besns, onions snd let·
tuce and roses, hyacinths, msrigolds snd
various shrubs snd dwarf trees. Below
are fish drying for West African msrkets.
Stock fish are plsced on open·sir wood·
en rscks along the coastal plsins. Ice·
land's fishing ffeets are sturdy, modern,
efficient, probsbly the best equipped in
the world.
1t
takes only half an hour to
unload a ship's hold. The catch is then
trucked to processíng plants and resdied
for freezlng.