Iceland is a tiny nation of island and some archipelagoes. It is to the south of Greenland.
It is located on the mid-Atlantic ridge, which is the boundary between the North American and the Eurasian plates. (the red line in the image below marks the boundary)
From Thursday onwards, Iceland has been experiencing hundreds of earthquakes.
On Friday, the country declared a state of emergency:
“The National police chief … declares a state of emergency for civil defence due to the intense earthquake (activity) at Sundhnjukagigar, north of Grindavik.”
When there are many earthquakes, it can also mean that a volcano is about to start activity. Iceland has 33 volcanic systems – the highest in Europe.
So, the Iceland authorities have started efforts to evacuate (take to a safe place) about 4000 people – who are living in the area affected by the quakes.
The Iceland Met Office has this map showing the location and magnitude of recent earthquakes in the country.
The Iceland Met Office has detected about 20,000 quakes since late October.