Iceland
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
102,775km²
Area
5,135km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
2,110m
Highest point
Hvannadalshnúkur
321,857
People
10°C
Warmest sea
August
936km
To the mainland
When to go to Iceland
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (10 °C) and coolest in March (4 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Main island of the Republic of Iceland
Iceland is an island in Iceland. It covers 102,775 km², with 5,135 km of coastline. Its highest point, Hvannadalshnúkur, rises to 2,110 m. About 321,857 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 936 km away.
Getting there
- Akureyri International Airport (AEY)main airport (7 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at AEY airport (Akureyri)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 936 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Iceland.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Iceland in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Iceland, each with its own numbers.
136beaches and covesCoastya
212lakesLakeyas
151waterfallsCascadyas
Tallest waterfall
227m
Morsárfoss
according to Cascadyas
Largest lake
81.6km²
Þingvallavatn
114 m deep · according to Lakeyas
Deepest lake
260m
Jökulsárlón
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
16.9°C
Hvaleyrarvatn
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
11.6°C
Hafnarskeið
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
136 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Nauthólsvík11.4°C
- Seltjörncove11.4°C
- Kópavogurcove11.4°C
- Lambhúsatjörncove11.4°C
- Grunnavíkcove9.1°C
- Djúpavíkcove8.0°C
- Fauskasandur9.5°C
- Hvalfjara8.9°C
128 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
212 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Þingvallavatn114 m deep81.6km²
- Þórisvatn113 m deep78.4km²
- Lagarfljót112 m deep54.1km²
- Blöndulón39 m deep53.4km²
- Mývatn4 m deep38.2km²
- Hvítárvatn84 m deep29.1km²
- Langisjór74 m deep25.4km²
- Jökulsárlón260 m deep17.5km²
204 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
151 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Glymur190m
- Háifoss122m
- Seljalandsfoss65m
- Skógafoss62m
- Dettifoss44m
- Selfoss44m
- Gullfoss32m
- Svartifoss20m
143 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
500 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Reykjavík118,918 people
- Kópavogur40,040 people
- Hafnarfjörður31,525 people
- Reykjanesbær19,724 people
- Keflavík15,930 people
- Mosfellsbær13,715 people
- Garðabær11,421 people
- Selfoss9,000 people
- Akranes7,411 people
- Seltjarnarnes4,726 people
- Norðurþing3,234 people
- Ísafjörður2,736 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -5 | -5 | -4 | -2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | -1 | -4 | -5 |
| Night low (°C) | -10 | -10 | -10 | -7 | -4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -1 | -5 | -8 | -10 |
| Sea (°C) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Rain (mm) | 83 | 74 | 78 | 67 | 64 | 56 | 79 | 77 | 96 | 92 | 90 | 91 |
| Wet days | 24 | 21 | 23 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 0.3 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 7.3 | 8.5 | 9.7 | 7.2 | 6.2 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Wind (km/h) | 28 | 29 | 27 | 23 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 21 | 23 | 26 | 28 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.8 | −0.1 |
| 2021 | −0.3 | −0.2 | +0.6 | +0.1 | −0.2 | −0.4 | +0.7 | +1.7 | +0.7 | −0.6 | −0.6 | −0.9 |
| 2022 | −0.6 | −1.0 | −0.7 | −0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.1 | −0.4 | +0.3 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.3 |
| 2023 | −0.8 | −0.4 | −0.6 | −0.3 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.4 | ±0.0 |
| 2024 | +0.2 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | +0.3 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.5 | −0.4 | −1.0 | −0.8 | −1.3 |
| 2025 | −1.1 | −0.6 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +1.7 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q3740828) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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canyons
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