Main Areas in Iceland:

Reykjavik

Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland, its largest city and the world's most northern national capital, its latitude being 64°08' N, not far from the Arctic Circle. It receives only four hours of daylight per day in the depth of winter, and during the summer the nights are almost as bright as the days. Reykjavík is located in southwest Iceland at the shores of Faxaflói bay. The Reykjavík area coastline is characterized by peninsulas, coves, straits and islands. During the Ice Age (until 10 000 years ago), a large glacier covered parts of the city area, reaching as far out as Álftanes. Other parts of the city area were covered by sea water. In the warm periods and at the end of the Ice Age, some hills like Öskjuhlíð were islands. The former sea-level is characterised by sediments (with clams) reaching f.ex. at Öskjuhlíð as far up as 43 m above current sea-level. The hills Öskjuhlíð and Skólavörðuholt seem to be the remains of former shield volcanoes which were active during the warm periods of the Ice Age. After the Ice Age, the land rose as the heavy load of the glaciers fell away, and began to look as it does today. But the capital city area was still shaped by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, like the one 4500 years ago in the mountain range Bláfjöll, when the lava coming down the Elliðaárvalley reached the sea at the bay Elliðavogur.