The Land of Fire and Ice Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ingolfur Arnarson

Ingólfur Arnarson originally came ashore at the point on the south coast now known as Ingolfshofdi (Ingolf's Head). However, he declined to settle there, preferring to throw his family totem poles into the sea and found his settlement where they were washed up - in what is now Reykjavik.

Answer: The Twentieth

Guðjón Samúelsson is said to have designed he Hallgrímskirkja to resemble the basalt lava flows which are typical of the country. Hallgrímskirkja is a Lutheran church.

Answer: Icelandic Crown

In common with Sweden and Norway, the Icelanders use crowns (króna) as their national currency. The modern Icelandic króna was established in 1981.

Answer: Denmark

Back in the 13th century, Iceland became a part of Norway. Later, when Norway joined forces with Denmark in 1814, the Danes took over Iceland. On December 1, 1918 Denmark officially recognised that Iceland was a "sovereign state", but the date the Icelanders celebrate as being that of their independence is actually 25 years later, during the occupation of Denmark by Nazi Germany.

Answer: A waterfall

Some places which have spectacular waterfalls are simply called "Foss", but perhaps the most famous waterfall is at Gulfoss, part of the Golden Circle. One waterfall I visited in Iceland was Hundafoss - the Dog Falls, so called because this is where the farmers' dogs used to get regularly swept down over the falls into the deep pools beneath them, when their masters were crossing the river.

The dogs would then simply jump out, shake themselves off and trot home.

Answer: Glacier

Glaciers cover around 11% of Iceland. The largest glacier in Iceland is Vatnajökull in the southeastern part of the country. The highest point of Eyjafjallajökull is 1666 metres above sea level.

Answer: Bathe

"Bláa Lónið" is better known as the Blue Lagoon and is a spa where the workers have to cool the water down before it is safe for visitors to bathe in it. It is just south of Keflavik, the airport for Reykjavik.

Answer: On the menu

I apologise to the animal lovers and vegetarians among you, but this is what the guide on our tour told us: the two places in the area where you can be certain to find puffin are on whale-watching expeditions and on the menu!

Answer: A toilet

I didn't realise what this building was at first, and then when I did find out and pushed the door open, it was with some trepidation. In fact, it was a perfectly clean compost toilet complete with an ample supply of toilet paper! Full marks to the Icelanders for avoiding the need to crouch behind a rock to relieve the call of nature (there are no trees on the volcano to go behind anyway!).

Answer: Preached a sermon which is reputed to have stopped the flow of lava which threatened to engulf the village.

The Lakagígar Volcano eruptions of 1783 were responsible directly or indirectly for the deaths of some 9000 people in Iceland - more than 20% of the country's population at the time. Jón Steingrímsson is remembered for preaching the "eldmessa" (Fire Sermon) which is said to have brought the lava flow which threatened to engulf the village to a halt.

However, the deaths were not restricted to Iceland: just like during the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption, a cloud drifted over Europe during the weeks and months following the 1783 eruptions - in this case carrying sulphur dioxide which caused smog which proved fatal to many thousands of people. The cloud reached Britain on June 22, 1783, and it has been estimated that 23,000 Britons died as a result of inhaling its fumes; other European countries had similar death rates.