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Article: Celebrating Geology on Icelandic Stamps.
- Article from:
- Faces: People, Places, and Cultures
- Article date:
- May 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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With rifts and fissures, craters and mountains, Iceland is a land of stark geologic beauty. Ice-cold rivers flow through sunken valleys. Lava deserts and gigantic waterfalls flow over basalt cliffs.
Surrounded by this dramatic geology, the people of Iceland celebrate their natural wonders on their postage stamps. The postal system in Iceland dates back to the early 1400s, but postage stamps were not introduced until 1873. Geological features began appearing on Icelandic postage stamps in 1925, and continue to be a popular theme for stamp designs today.
Commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the Althing, a set of 1930 stamps includes a depiction of the ...