Route 1 (Iceland)

Route 1 or the Ring Road (Icelandic: Þjóðvegur 1 or Hringvegur) is a national road in Iceland that runs around the island and connects most of the inhabited parts of the country. The total length of the road is 1,332 kilometres (828 mi). Some of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland, such as the Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls, and Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, are also on or near the Ring Road.

The ring was completed in 1974, coinciding with the 1100th anniversary of the country's settlement when the longest bridge in Iceland, crossing the Skeiðará river in the southeast, was opened.

Characteristics

For almost all its length, the road is two lanes wide: one lane going in each direction. Where it passes through larger towns, the number of lanes may be increased, as also in the Hvalfjörður Tunnel. Many smaller bridges are single lane, especially in eastern Iceland, and constructed of wood and/or steel. The road is paved with asphalt for most of its length, but there are still stretches in eastern Iceland with an unpaved gravel surface. The Iceland Road Administration, Vegagerðin, oversees the maintenance and building of both main roads and minor roads.

Ring road

A ring road (also known as beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town or city.

Nomenclature

The name "ring road" is used for the majority of metropolitan circumferential routes in the European Union, such as the Berliner Ring, the Brussels Ring, the Amsterdam Ring, the Boulevard Périphérique around Paris and the Leeds Inner and Outer ring roads. Australia and India also use the term ring road, as in Melbourne's Western Ring Road and Hyderabad's Outer Ring Road. In Canada the term is the most commonly used, with "orbital" also used to a much lesser extent.

In Europe, some ring roads, particularly those of motorway standard which are longer in length, are often known as "orbital motorways". Examples include the London Orbital (188 km), Rome Orbital (68 km) and Manchester Orbital (56 km).

In the United States, many ring roads are called beltlines, beltways, or loops, such as the Capital Beltway around Washington, D.C. Some ring roads, such as Washington's Capital Beltway, use "Inner Loop" and "Outer Loop" terminology for directions of travel, since cardinal (compass) directions cannot be signed uniformly around the entire loop. The term 'ring road' is occasionally – and inaccurately – used interchangeably with the term 'bypass'.

Ring Road (disambiguation)

A ring road is a road that encircles a town or city.

Ring Road may also refer to:

Highways

Ring Road, Delhi, India

Arts, media, and entertainment

See also

Ring Road (Cairo)

The Cairo Ring Road is the most important freeway of the Greater Cairo metropolitan area in Egypt. The ring road encircles large parts of the cities of Cairo and Giza including Cairo International Airport.

Construction began in the late 1980s. It was originally planned to surround the greater Cairo region in 3 of its 4 sides, but part of the road remains unbuilt because the original route took it very near the Giza pyramids, an area which has been on the UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1979. It had two purposes: stopping the urbanization of arable lands, and reducing Cairo's traffic.

In the early 2000s, planning for the Second Greater Cairo Ring Road commenced, enclosing the larger metropolitan area including Al Shorouk City, New Cairo and Helwan in Cairo Governorate, Obour City in Qalyubia Governorate and 6th of October City in Giza Governorate, with some 200km of the eastern and southern part of the Second Ring Road being finished.

History

There were three master plans for the urban development of Cairo, in 1956, 1970 and 1983. Ring Road first appeared in the second plan as a beltway encompassing 3 of the 4 sides of the Greater Cairo region, and linking all the 16 administrative regions that the plan created. In the third master plan, approved in 1984 under the government of Hosni Mubarak and in collaboration with France, it appeared as a 73 km (45 mi) long beltway. It would connect the new 16 administrative regions of the city and would isolate them from the rural areas.

Iceland

Iceland (ⁱ/ˈaɪslænd/; Icelandic: Ísland [ˈistlant]), also called the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic island country between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. It has a population of 329,100 and an area of 103,000 km² (40,000 sq mi), making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country are home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence still keeps summers chilly, with most of the archipelago having a tundra climate.

According to Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in the year 874 when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island. In the following centuries, mainly Norwegians and to a smaller extent other Scandinavians settled Iceland, bringing with them thralls of Gaelic origin. From 1262 to 1814, Iceland was ruled by Norway and afterwards by Denmark. Until the 20th century, the country relied largely on fishing and agriculture. Iceland became independent in 1918 and a republic in 1944. Industrialisation of the fisheries and Marshall Plan aid following World War II brought prosperity and Iceland became one of the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world. In 1994, it became a part of the European Economic Area, which supported diversification into economic and financial services.

Geography of Iceland

The geography of Iceland entails the geographic features of Iceland, an island country at the confluence of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Iceland is located east of Greenland and immediately south of the Arctic Circle, atop the constructive boundary of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It lies about 860 km (534 mi) from Scotland and 4,200 km (2,610 mi) from New York City. One of the world's most sparsely populated countries, the republic of Iceland's boundaries are almost completely the same as the main island – the world's 18th largest in area and possessing almost all of the country's area and population.

Iceland has extensive volcanic and geothermal activity. The rift associated with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which marks the division between the European and North American tectonic plates, runs across Iceland from the southwest to the northeast. This geographic feature is prominent at the Þingvellir National Park, where the promontory creates an extraordinary natural amphitheatre. The site was the home of Iceland's parliament, the Alþing, which was first convened in 930. It is a common misconception that Þingvellir are located at the juncture between the North American and Eurasian continental plates. However, they are in fact at the juncture of the North American continental plate and a smaller plate (approx. 10,000 km2) called the Hreppar Microplate (Hreppaflekinn).

Iceland (album)

Iceland is an EP released by All About Eve in 2002. It was described mainly as a winter (rather than specifically Christmas) EP, although five out of seven of the songs do contain references to Christmas or are songs particularly connected with it.

Only Melting and Cold are new All About Eve-penned songs. "Last Christmas" is a cover of the Wham! song and "A Winter's Tale" is a cover of the Queen song. The two versions of "December" are takes on the original All About Eve song (as found on their second album Scarlet and Other Stories) and Walking in the Air is a radical re-working of the song made famous as theme music to The Snowman.

This album was made (and the songs performed) by Julianne Regan and Andy Cousin only, and did not include Robin Guy or Toni Haimi, the other band members at the time.

Track listing

External links