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GUESS THE COUNTRY!?!?!?!?

How have tectonic plate movements shaped the
geography of Iceland?
Volcanoes (also from tectonic boundaries)
Volcanoes are very common in Iceland, being both a hazard and a benefit to the Icelandic
population. Because the Mid-Atlantic ridge (right above the plate boundary between the
Eurasian plate and the North-American plate) being the cause of divergent tectonic plates,
when the plates separate, a gap separates enough for the pressure below in the mantle to
push the magma up and out of the crust, forming volcanoes (and in the case of an ocean, a
mid-ocean ridge). The plate boundary also causes mountains to form, which is why iceland
has so many mountains. The pressure from beneath the crust and the magma pushing up at
the crust caused the island to overall rise above sea level, so generally, iceland has a above
average elevation. However, one of the downsides of the volcanoes in iceland is that the ash
plumes and volcanic dust contaminates the water and makes it undrinkable, which means
Icelanders require more measures against volcanoes than other countries. The lava flows
also cause decreased air quality around the above-ground lava flows. The volcanoes also are
very destructive, often explosive and when lava flows are caused, burn down everything in
their path, leaving a trail of destruction.

these are some of the many volcanoes in Iceland

Faults and Tectonic Boundaries
Iceland is on the border between Eurasian and the
North American plates, which results in the
numerous volcanoes that are shown in the previous
slide. There are also other landforms that are formed
by the plates, such as this trench which allows you
to swim between the continents. These faults and
boundaries also form random cracks in the ground
or random ridges that can ruin cities or agricultural
land. Some benefits though include these
boundaries and the landforms formed by these
faults are popular to tourists, and also provide a
good place for geologists or geophysicists to study
and conduct experiments because of the easily
accessible to them.
Advantages of the boundary
There are numerous natural features such as geysers
and hot springs, which are major tourists attractions.
Furthermore, Iceland is also one of the most energy
efficient countries in the world, while almost all their
electricity is produced through hydroelectricity and
geothermal energy, the latter is produced through the
hot water that is pumped up, generating energy
through steam. 60

50

40
Iceland has an average
of 55,000kWH of energy 30
produced per person.
20
The EU average is only
6,000kWH 10

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Iceland EU