Kajakklúbburinn Kaj Neskaupstað

 

Kajakklúbburinn Kaj Neskaupstað is based on the East Coast of Iceland, check out their website at www.123.is/kaj

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kayakklubburinn Reykjavik

 

www.kayakklubburinn.is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Iceland, with a population of only 313,000, is the world's 18th largest island, and Europe's second largest, following Great Britain. Many fjords punctuate Iceland's extensive coastline, which is where most towns are situated since the land's interiour is a cold and uninhabitable combination of glaciers, mountains and sands.


Iceland is located in the North Atlantic Ocean just South of the Arctic Circle, which passes through the small island of Grimsey, but not through mainland Iceland. Because of cultural, economic and linguistic similarities, Iceland in many contexts is also included in Scandinavia, although it is located much closer to Greenland than to Europe, with Norway being 3 times as far away as Greenland.



Climate

The climate of Iceland's coast is cold oceanic. The warm North Atlantic current ensures generally higher annual temperatures than in most places of similar latitude in the world. The winters are mild and windy while the summers are damp and cool.

Regions in the world with similar climate include the Aleutian Islands, Alaska Peninsula, and Tierra del Fiego (Southern Chile) although these regions are closer to the equator.


Despite its proximity to the Arctic, the island's coasts remain ice-free through the winter. Ice incursions are rare, last having occurred on the north coast in 1969.




Iceland's very first Settlers: Irish

The first people thought to have inhabited Iceland were Irish monks or hermits who came in the eighth century, travelling in the wake of the monk St. Brendan from County Cork, West Ireland.

St. Brendan travelled to Iceland in a modified Curragh, an Irish skin-on-frame boat which is still in use on parts of West Ireland, such as on Inisheer (Aran Islands). See Tim Severin's excellent book "Brendan's Voyage".

The Irish monks left with the arrival of Norsemen, who systematically settled Iceland in the period AD 870-930.


The first known permanent Norse settler was Ingolfur Arnarson, who built his homestead in Reykjavik in 874. Ingólfur was followed by many other emigrant settlers, largely Norsemen and their Irish slaves.


By 930, most arable land had been claimed and the Althing, a legislative and judiciary parliament, was founded as the political hub of the Icelandic Free State. The Free State lasted until in 1262 the political system devised by the original settlers could not cope with the increasing power of Icelandic chieftains.