Iceland sits right on top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the giant crack where North America and Europe are slowly tearing apart. That makes it one of the most volcanic places on Earth, with about 130 volcanic systems and an eruption every few years.
Icelanders use that heat. Pipes drilled down to hot rocks pump steaming water straight to towns, where it warms 90 percent of homes and generates a quarter of the country’s electricity. The leftover hot water fills swimming pools - an Icelandic obsession even in winter.
Because the country is being pulled apart at about 2 centimetres a year, you can actually walk between two tectonic plates at Thingvellir, where a long crack splits the landscape. Iceland is one of the few places where Earth quite literally grows.
