Editing History of Iceland (section)

==Geological background==
{{Main|Geology of Iceland}}
[[File:Iceland Mid-Atlantic Ridge map.svg|thumb|right|Mid-Atlantic Ridge and adjacent plates. Volcanoes indicated in <span style="color:red">red</span>.]]
In geological terms, Iceland is a young island. It started to form in the [[Miocene]] era about 20 million years ago from a series of [[volcano|volcanic eruptions]] on the [[Mid-Atlantic Ridge]], where it lies between the [[North American Plate]] and [[Eurasian Plate]]. These plates spread at a rate of approximately 2.5 centimeters per year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiana.edu/~g105lab/1425chap13.htm|title=Jürgen Schieber, University of Indiana. G105 (Earth: Our Habitable Planet) Chapter 13: Evolution of Continents and Oceans|access-date=30 September 2014}}</ref> This elevated portion of the ridge is known as the ''Reykjanes Ridge''. The volcanic activity is attributed to a [[Hotspot (geology)|hotspot]], the ''[[Iceland hotspot]]'', which in turn lies over a [[mantle plume]] (the [[Iceland plume|''Iceland Plume'']]), a column of anomalously hot rock in the [[Earth's mantle]] which is likely to be partly responsible for the island's creation and continued existence. For comparison, it is estimated that other volcanic islands, such as the [[Faroe Islands]] have existed for about 55 million years,
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nvd.fo/index.php?id=130|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813130254/http://www.nvd.fo/index.php?id=130|archive-date=13 August 2007|title=Fróðskaparsetur Føroya: Megindeildin fyri náttúruvísindi og heilsuvísindi. Uppskriftir og myndir frá jarðfrøði-ferðum kring landið (October 2004)|access-date=30 September 2014}}</ref> the [[Azores]] (on the same ridge) about 8 million years,<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02181.x|first1=Mark|last2=Schaefer|last1=Carine|first2=Hanno|title=The Azores diversity enigma: why are there so few Azorean endemic flowering plants and why are they so widespread?|journal=Journal of Biogeography| volume=37| issue=1| year=2010 |pages=77–89|s2cid=85947772 }}</ref> and Hawaii less than a million years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/|title=US Geological Survey. Mauna Loa: Earth's Largest Volcano|access-date=30 September 2014|archive-date=9 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150809235450/http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The younger rock strata in the southwest of Iceland and the central highlands are only about 700,000 years old. The [[Geological history of the Earth]] is divided into [[ice ages]], based on temperature and climate. The last [[glacial period]], commonly referred to as [[Last glacial period|''The Ice Age'']] is thought to have begun about 110,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago. While covered in ice, Iceland's [[icefall]]s, [[fjords]] and valleys were formed.<ref>{{cite book|author=Björn Þorsteinsson og Bergsteinn Jónsson|title=Íslands Saga: til okkar daga|publisher=Sögufélagið|year=1991|isbn=978-9979-9064-4-5|page=11}}</ref>