The White Falcon - 22.04.1983, Blaðsíða 4

4 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT Keflavik, Iceland
Geography reveals...
Country still in developing stages
Exploring the land of Fire and Ice —
The NATO Base Tour Office offers many
interesting trips during the warm sum-
mer months.
Iceland is the second largest island in Europe
(after the United Kingdom) and the third largest in
the Atlantic Ocean (Greenland being the largest). It
has a total area of 39,765 square miles. Although the
Arctic Circle bisects the Icelandic island of Grim-
sev, the whole country lies to the south of the Arctic.
The shortest distance to Greenland in the west is
180 miles, to Scotland in the east 434 miles, and
to Norway 625 miles.
The island may be roughly characterized as a big
block built up through a series of volcanic eruptions
and shaped by erosion and frost action. As a (geo-
logically) young country the first impression is of a
roughly hewn landscape without that softness of
outline that is most representative of more mature
areas. But a lot of the blame for the denuded areas
of much of Iceland must be taken by Man and not
nature. Through wood cutting, forest fires and the
grazing of livestock—mainly sheep—the once exten-
sive birch forests were devastated and the result
was a catastrophic level of soil destruction. As soils
in Iceland have a low clay content they are highly
susceptible to erosion—and as plant life was strip-
ped away by the action of the wind and rain the
topsoil was swept away, creating vast deserts.
Large areas of Iceland are still suffering from over-
grazing and damage from Man and his recreational
vehicles, but successful efforts are being made in
re-seeding grass and in reforestation.
Glaciers of nearly all varieties cover about 11.5%
of Iceland. The Vatnajokull glacier alone is as large
as all of Europe’s glaciers and ice-caps combined
and ranks third in the world in size (after Antarctica
and the ice-cap of Greenland).
Waterfalls abound and are well worth visiting.
The tallest, Skogarfoss on the south coast, cas-
cades 190 feet down to a gravel platform. Gullfoss,
the Golden Falls, rushes into a narrow gorge after
throwing up a fine, rainbow tinted mist. And Detti-
foss, the largest, thunders down onto boulders with
great force.
Lakes on the other hand, provide both tranquility
and good fishing. About 35% of Iceland’s surface is
covered by lakes—which is three times the surface
area of all the country’s cultivated fields combined.
Most of Iceland is a plateau with an average
height above sea level of 1,700 feet. Rising from it
are volcanic peaks and isolated table lands. The
highest peak, Hvannadalshnukur, is about 6,000
feet. Roughly one-quarter of the country lies below
the 600 feet contour line. In the basalt areas the
plateau extends down nearly to the coast in many
places. There, steep cliffs border deep fjords,
almost all of them with deep natural harbors, while
narrow valleys stretch inland. From the large fjords
on the north coast broad and fertile valleys pene-
trate far into the south coast, divided into two dis-
tinctly contrasting areas by the Mydalsjokull glac-
ier. The eastern part of the plain is mainly a desert of
sand and gravel while the western part is the most
fertile agricultural area in Iceland.
Varied bird population highlights wildlife
At the time of Iceland’s first settlers the arctic
fox was the only land mammal in the country.
They are still common despite continued efforts
to reduce their numbers because of the damage
they have caused to sheep. Polar bears have
been known to reach Iceland via pack ice. But in
all cases they have been hunted and killed soon
after their arrival. Man has introduced four spe-
cies of rodent. They are the long-tailed field-
mouse which is common in rural areas; the
house-mouse and the brown rat which can be
found in towns and villages; and the black rat
which occurs sporadically in Reykjavik and
occasionally in some other ports.
Two animals have been introduced deliber-
ately. Reindeer were repeatedly imported from
northern Norway in the second half of the 18th
century. Their descendents still roam free in the
eastern part of the central highlands. A breed of
North American mink was introduced by breed-
ers in about 1930. Many escaped and reverted to
Hunting, fishing both
very popular sports
Fishing as a sport is very popular among Ice-
landers. They have stocked rivers and lakes with
salmon and trout and are among the world’s
leaders in fresh water fish management.
A licensing system exists for all sport fishing.
Owners of land adjacent to rivers or lakes either
stock their streams and sell daily licenses, or
else they lease the river to an interested person
or group who then takes the responsibility for
the management. In all cases, outside of the
highlands, thefishing rights are owned by some-
one—who sets the costs of the license and the
limit, if any, on catches.
A day by a trout stream or lake can cost as
little as $5, while the same length of time on a
good stretch of salmon river could cost more
than ten times that amount.
The only fish found in Icelandic rivers are sal-
mon, trout, char, eel and the three-spined stickle-
back.
Hunting is limited to ptarmigan and goose. In
both cases regulations outline the seasons,
areas and what may or may not be shot.
the wild. They have multiplied steadily and now
threaten bird life.
In all 72 types of birds nest regularly in Ice-
land. Another six are commonly seen migrating
in winter and a further 30 are regular winter
visitors. However, a total of 265 species of birds
are known to have occurred in Iceland at one
time or another. Of these, the most celebrated is
the Iceland gyrfalcon. It is fully protected through-
out the year and is still widely distributed in the
rocky and mountainous parts of the country.
The huge white-tailed eagle is in serious danger
of becoming extinct in Iceland with fewer than
20 pairs thought to be alive. The third local bird
of prey is the merlin.
The only game bird which exists in large
numbers is the ptarmigan—often seen in its win-
ter plumage on the NATO Base during the holi-
day season.
Seabirds including guillemot, razorbill, puffin,
kittiwake, fulmar, gannet and many types of gull
can be found on most coasts, where at one time
they were a major source of food.
Two types of owl, the snowy owl and the
short-eared owl, can be found, but the absence
of large-scale wooded areas has restricted nest-
ing passerines. The raven, snow bunting, red-
poll and wren are resident while the meadow
pipit, white wagtail, redwing and wheatear are
common summer visitors. The starling, a late
arrival, still has a restricted breeding range while
swallow, fieldfare and house sparrow have at-
tempted to breed in Iceland without success of a
permanent colony.
CREDITS
This special supplement to The White Falcon was pro-
duced by the Iceland Defense Force Public A ffairs Office.
The views expressed are not necessarily those of the
Iceland Defense Force, the Department of Defense, or
reflective of official U.S. Government policy.
LCDR William W. Clyde
Assistant for Public Affairs
Production Staff: Mik Magnusson, JOCS Bill Wedertz,
J02 Frank Fisher, J03 Dan Jackson, PH3 Jeff Wood and
other former IDF PAO staff personnel. Printing by the
Regional Printing Office, NATO Base, Keflavik, Iceland.
The most characteristic waders are the golden
plover and the whimbrel which can be heard all
over the country in bogs and heathlands. Other
common waders are the snipe, redshank, dun-
lin, purple sandpiper, ringed plover, oyster-
catcher and the red-necked phalarope. The
black-tailed godwit and gray phalarope are less
common while turnstone, knot and sanderling
can be seen on their way to and from Greenland.
Waterfowl are found in great abundance. Lake
Myvatn, in north Iceland, is a major center for
waterfowl—no fewer than 16 species of duck
nest there. Barrow’s goldeneye and harlequin,
both American species, are among the regular
visitors. Graylag geese and the arctic pink-
footed goose inhabit Iceland in addition to the
white-fronted goose, barnacle goose and the
brent goose. Iceland is also one of the few pla-
ces which can still be called a common breeding
ground for the whooper swan.
Arctic-alpine plant
species in abundance
Although birch woods suffered badly after the
country was settled 1,100 years ago, forests can
still be found. This is mainly due to reforestation
and controlled grazing once people noticed
what had been happening. Thanks to conserva-
tion measures including controlled pastureland,
fencing, and the sowing of grass seed to bind the
remaining topsoil, plus a growing awareness of
the environment and Iceland’s delicate ecostruc-
ture, two good sized woods can be found today.
The larger one is at Hallormstad in east Iceland
while the smaller one is at Fnjoskadalur in the
north. Small woods exist in other places—all
dependent on shelter from the prevailing winds.
Mosses, lichens, sedges, ferns and grasses
are, however, much more abundant in Iceland
than in other areas of the far north, including
Scandinavia. While large parts of the highlands
are quite barren, lush meadows can be found in
depressions up to altitudes of 1,500-2,300 feet
and assorted plants and flowers grow on slopes
and hills at such heights. About one-third of the
vascular plants in Iceland may be characterized
as arctic-alpine species while the rest are boreal.
The origins are mixed, but mostly European.