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While the Arctic fox is the only mammal native to Iceland, its range also extends to Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia. The Arctic fox’s coat provides some of the best insulation of any mammal fur; it is the only member of the canine family with foot pads covered in fur.

The world's oldest parliament, the Althing, was created in 930. The unicameral legislature began as an open-air assembly that met in Thingvellir for two weeks a year to pass laws and settle disputes, operating until the Danish crown abolished it in 1798. The Althing reconvened in Reykjavík in 1845. The remains of the original Althing in Thingvellir National Park became a UNESCO Heritage site in 2004. Pictured is the current National Parliament building in Reykjavik, which was built in 1880.

Hallsgrimskirkja is a Lutheran church in Reykjavik, Iceland, that was built between 1945 and 1986. The church, with its spire of 74.5 m (244 ft), is one of the tallest buildings in Iceland and the tallest church in the country. The unusual design of the building was inspired by Iceland’s volcanoes and resembles a gigantic stalagmite of petrified lava.

Hofthi House in Reykjavik, Iceland, site of the summit between US President Ronald Reagan and Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1986.

Photo taken from the Eurasian continental plate (foreground rock ledge) looking across to the North American plate and to the Thingvellir, where the Icelandic republic was founded in 930 and independence declared in 1944. The tabletop mountain on the horizon was formed by a volcanic eruption beneath a glacial ice sheet.

Almannagja, the exposed eastern boundary of the North American geologic plate, in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland.

Hekla volcano, a stratovolcano in southern Iceland, is one of the island's most active volcanoes, with more than 20 eruptions since the ninth century A.D. Hekla is 1,491 m (4,892 ft) high, and its name is Icelandic for “short hooded cloak,” most likely a reference to the clouds that frequently hang over its summit. The volcano is responsible for creating more than 10% of Iceland's landmass over the last millennium.

Laki is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The fissure is properly referred to as Lakagígar -- Laki is a mountain that the fissure bisects.

The Gullfoss (Golden Falls) Waterfall in southern Iceland.

While the Arctic fox is the only mammal native to Iceland, its range also extends to Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia. The Arctic fox’s coat provides some of the best insulation of any mammal fur; it is the only member of the canine family with foot pads covered in fur.