Reykjavik

Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland, its largest city and, with a latitude at 64°08' N, the world's most northern national capital. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay. With a population of more than 117,000, it is the heart of Iceland's economic and governmental activity.

Reykjavík is believed to be the location of the first permanent settlement in Iceland, which Ingólfur Arnarson is said to have established around the year 870. Until the 18th century, there was no urban development in the city location. The city was founded in 1786 as an official trading town and grew steadily over the next decades, as it transformed into a regional and later national center of commerce, population and governmental activities.

Today, Reykjavík is the centre of the Greater Reykjavík Area which, with a population of more than 190,000, is by far the largest metropolitan area of Iceland. As a highly modernised capital of one of the most developed countries in the world, its inhabitants enjoy a first-class welfare system and city infrastructure. Its location, only slighty south of the Arctic Circle, receives only four hours of daylight per day in the depth of winter; during the summer the nights are almost as bright as the days. It has continued to see population growth in past years as well as growth in areas of commerce and industry.

Geography

Reykjavík is located in southwest Iceland on 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.

The largest river to run through Reykjavík is the Elliðaá River, which is not navigable by ships, but one of the best salmon fishing rivers in the country. Mt. Esja, at 914 m, is the highest mountain in the vicinity of Reykjavík.

The city of Reykjavík is mostly located on the Seltjarnarnes peninsula, but the suburbs reach far out to the south and east from it. Reykjavík is a spread-out city; most of its urban area is in the form of low-density suburbs and houses are usually widely spaced. The outer residential neighbourhoods are as well widely spaced from each other; in between them run the main traffic arteries and a lot of empty spaces with little aesthetic or recreational value. The young age of the city has contributed the most to this kind of urban planning.

  
 Reykjavík City Hall