Editing Reykjavík (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Reykjavik view.jpg|thumb|Reykjavik view during sunrise]]
[[File:Reykjavikfromabove.jpg|thumb|Reykjavík seen from above]]
[[File:Reykjavik Esja.jpg|thumb|[[Esjan|Esja]], the mountain range to the north of Reykjavík]]
Reykjavík is located in the southwest of [[Iceland]]. The Reykjavík area [[coastline]] is characterized by [[Peninsula|peninsulas]], coves, straits, and islands.

During the [[Quaternary glaciation|Ice Age]] (up to 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 indicated by sediments (with clams) reaching (at Öskjuhlíð, for example) as far as {{convert|43|m|0|abbr=on}} above the current sea level. The hills of Öskjuhlíð and Skólavörðuholt appear 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.

The capital city area continued to be shaped by [[earthquake]]s and [[Volcano|volcanic eruptions]], such as the one 4,500 years ago in the mountain range [[Bláfjöll]], when the lava coming down the Elliðaá valley reached the sea at the bay of Elliðavogur.

The largest river to run through Reykjavík is the [[Elliðaár|Elliðaá]] River, which is non-navigable. It offers [[salmon]] fishing within the city limits.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.frommers.com/destinations/reykjavik/active-pursuits/fishing |title=Fishing in Reykjavik |work=Frommer's |access-date=23 June 2021}}</ref> Mount [[Esja]], at {{convert|914|m|0|abbr=on}}, 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. Reykjavík is a spread-out city: most of its urban area consists of low-density suburbs, and houses are usually widely spaced. The outer residential neighbourhoods are also widely spaced from each other; in between them are the main traffic arteries and a lot of empty space. The city's latitude is 64°08' N, making it the [[List of northernmost items|world's northernmost capital]] of a sovereign state ([[Nuuk]], the capital of [[Greenland]], is slightly further north at 64°10' (about 4 km) but Greenland is a [[Denmark#Danish Realm|constituent country]], not an independent state).

{{wide image|Reykjavik_Perlan.jpg|1200px|Panorama of Reykjavík seen from [[Perlan]] with the mountains Akrafjall (middle) and [[Esjan|Esja]] (right) in the background}}
{{wide image|Vista de Reikiavik desde Perlan, Distrito de la Capital, Islandia, 2014-08-13, DD 134-145 HDR PAN.JPG|1200px|Panorama of Reykjavík seen from [[Perlan]] at sunset in summer. As seen in the picture, Reykjavík's climate is mild enough for trees to grow.}}

===Climate===

Reykjavík has a [[Oceanic climate#Subpolar variety (Cfc, Cwc)|subpolar oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfc'', [[Trewartha climate classification|Trewartha]]: ''Eolk'')<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=3040&cityname=Reykjavik,+Capital+Region,+Iceland&units=|title=Reykjavik, Iceland Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)|website=Weatherbase|access-date=8 November 2018}}</ref> closely bordering on a [[subarctic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Dfc'') in the 0°C isotherm. The city has had its present climate classification since the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?useExisting=1&layers=7a53584fa55643df969f93cec83788e1|title=Köppen Climate Classification of 1900–2100|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108224555/https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?useExisting=1&layers=7a53584fa55643df969f93cec83788e1|archive-date=8 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/shifts.htm|title=Shifts climate|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130211037/http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/shifts.htm|archive-date=30 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

At 64° north, Reykjavík is characterized by extremes of day and night length over the course of the year. From 20 May to 24 July, daylight is essentially permanent as the sun never gets more than 5° below the horizon. Day length drops to less than five hours between 2 December and 10 January. The sun climbs just 3° above the horizon during this time. However, day length begins increasing rapidly during January and by month's end there are seven hours of daylight.

Despite its northern latitude, temperatures very rarely drop below {{convert|-15|C|0}} in the winter. The proximity to the [[Arctic Circle]] and the strong moderation of the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in the [[Iceland]]ic coast (influence of [[North Atlantic Current]], an extension of the [[Gulf Stream]]) shape a relatively mild winter and cool summer. The city's coastal location does make it prone to wind, however, and [[gale]]s are common in winter (influence of the [[Icelandic Low]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Icelandic low |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/Icelandic-low |publisher=[[Britannica]] |access-date=17 February 2021}}</ref> Summers are cool, with temperatures fluctuating between {{convert|10|and|15|C}}, rarely exceeding {{convert|20|C|0}}. This is a result of exposure to the maritime winds in its exposed west coast location that causes it to be much cooler in summer than similar latitudes in mainland [[Scandinavia]]. Contrasting this, winter days are milder than anywhere in far southern [[Sweden]] and the vast majority of [[Denmark]]. In fact, winter temperatures are comparable to those of [[New York City]], which is more than 20 degrees farther south. Reykjavík averages 147 days of rain (more than 1mm) per year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yr.no/place/Iceland/Capital_Region/Reykjavik/statistics.html|title=Weather statistics for Reykjavik|work=yr.no|access-date=26 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107223017/http://www.yr.no/place/Iceland/Capital_Region/Reykjavik/statistics.html|archive-date=7 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Droughts are uncommon, although they occur in some summers. In the summer of 2007, no rain was measured for one month. July and August are the warmest months of the year on average and January and February the coldest.

Summer tends to be the sunniest season, although May averages the most sunshine of any individual month. Overall, the city receives around 1,300 annual hours of sunshine,<ref>[http://en.vedur.is/about-imo/news/2011/nr/2112 The weather of 2010 in Iceland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130071831/http://en.vedur.is/about-imo/news/2011/nr/2112 |date=30 January 2012 }} Icelandic Met Office</ref> which is comparable with other places in northern and north-western Europe such as [[Ireland]] and [[Scotland]], but substantially less than equally northern regions with a more continental climate, including the [[Bothnian Bay]] basin in Scandinavia. Nonetheless, Reykjavík is one of the cloudiest and coolest capitals of any nation in the world. The highest temperature recorded in Reykjavík was {{convert|25.7|C|0}}, reported on 30 July 2008,<ref>"[http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=1224B49210573E28&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=3 Reykjavik sees record summer temperature]". ''Agence France-Presse''. 31 July 2008.</ref> while the lowest-ever recorded temperature was {{convert|-24.5|C|0}}, recorded on 21 January 1918.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://andvari.vedur.is/vedurfar/yfirlit/yfirlitstoflur/vedurmet.html
|archive-url=http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20081118000532/http://andvari.vedur.is/vedurfar/yfirlit/yfirlitstoflur/vedurmet.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=18 November 2008
|title=Nokkur íslensk veðurmet|access-date=17 July 2008}}</ref> The coldest month on record is January 1918, with a mean temperature of {{convert|-7.2|C|0}}. The warmest is July 2019, with a mean temperature of {{convert|13.4|C|0}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://old.wetterzentrale.de/klima/treykjav.html|title=Temperaturmonatsmittel REYKJAVIK 1901– 1993|access-date=27 March 2020|archive-date=25 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225085816/http://old.wetterzentrale.de/klima/treykjav.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{Reykjavík weatherbox}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;line-height:1.2em;" 
|+Coastal temperature data for Reykjavík
|-
!Month
!Jan
!Feb
!Mar
!Apr
!May
!Jun
!Jul
!Aug
!Sep
!Oct
!Nov
!Dec
!style="border-left-width:medium"|Year
|-
!Average sea temperature °C (°F)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|-10.3}}"|3.9<br/>(39.02)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|-11.0}}"|3.7<br/>(38.66)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|-9.7}}"|4.1<br/>(39.38)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|-7.7}}"|4.7<br/>(40.46)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|-1.7}}"|6.5<br/>(43.70)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|6.0}}"|8.8<br/>(47.84)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|10.8}}"|10.5<br/>(50.90)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|12.2}}"|11.4<br/>(52.52)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|9.7}}"|9.9<br/>(49.82)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|2.3}}"|7.7<br/>(45.86)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|-2.0}}"|6.4<br/>(43.52)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|-5.0}}"|5.5<br/>(41.90)
| style="{{Weather box/colt|-0.3}}"|6.9<br/>(44.47)
|-
!Colspan=14 style="background:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-size:100%;"|Source 1: Seatemperature.net<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://seatemperature.net/current/iceland/reykjavik-sea-temperature|title =Reykjavík Sea Temperature|date=2023-04-25|website=seatemperature.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425105916/https://seatemperature.net/current/iceland/reykjavik-sea-temperature|archive-date=2023-04-25 }}</ref>
|}