Geographically speaking, is Iceland part of Europe or North America? Or is it not part of any continent?
Well, the fault that divides Europe and North America literally runs through Iceland. So technically speaking it is both European and American, with Reykjavík sitting on the North American half, but Egilsstaðir on the European half. Iceland belongs officially to the European continent, though I don’t believe Icelanders necessarily call themselves European either. They see themselves in a league of their own, though still associating themselves as part of the Scandinavian Europeans. One thing they share with the USA however is their love for “Pylsa”… Hot Dogs!
Neither, Geographically speaking Iceland is an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean slightly closer in proximity to mainland Europe than mainland North America. Its designation as European arises from it’s closer historical, cultural, economic, religious, social, and political resemblance to Northern Europe and from Europe’s hazy boundaries (Europe’s geographically arbitrary borders essentially arise from complex political, cultural, historical, religious, social, and economic distinctions from it’s neighbors within a legitimate geographical entity, Eurasia). By way of analogy, to say that Iceland is geographically part of Europe would be similar to saying that Hawaii is geographically part of North America – it’s not! In no way, shape, or form is Hawaii even closely geogrsphically connected to North America, and all the political, economic, historical, and cultural ties in the world will never make it GEOGRAPHICALLY connected to the Americas, plain and simple.
