Original subtitles

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ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER.

PACK YOUR COATS AND SCARVES.

TODAY, WE'RE TRAVELING TO THE EDGE OF THE ARCTIC

CIRCLE TO EXPERIENCE THE WONDERS OF ICELAND.

WE'LL EXPLORE THIS ANCIENT LAND OF ICE AND FIRE,

WHERE HUMANS AND ANIMALS HAVE STRUGGLED TO SURVIVE

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

WE'LL WITNESS A BREATHTAKING WILDERNESS

SHAPED BY THE AWESOME POWER OF NATURE AND

DISCOVER THE UNIQUE WAYS THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND KEEP

WARM.

WE'LL LEARN THE SECRETS OF ICELAND'S PAST,

REVEAL ITS PLANS FOR THE FUTURE,

AND VISIT A WORLD LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

ICELAND IS A COUNTRY OF CONTRASTS.

DESPITE RESTING ON THE EDGE OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE,

A CONTINUOUS FLOW OF WARM WATER FROM THE GULF STREAM

KEEPS TEMPERATURES ABOVE POLAR LEVELS.

IT'S A COUNTRY KNOWN FOR INCREDIBLE NATURAL BEAUTY,

WHERE CITIZENS ARE RANKED AMONG THE HAPPIEST ON

EARTH.

OUR JOURNEY INTO ICELAND BEGINS WITH A LOOK BACK AT

HOW THIS UNIQUE NATION CAME TO BE.

GEYSERS...

...VOLCANOES...

...WATERFALLS...

...IN ICELAND, NATURE CAN BE EXPERIENCED LIKE NO

OTHER PLACE ON EARTH.

[EAGLE SCREECHING]

[HORSES NEIGHING]

DYLAN: THE NAME "ICELAND" CAN BE TRACED BACK TO THE

FIRST NORWEGIAN SETTLERS.

IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY THIS ICY LANDSCAPE GOT ITS

NAME.

ICELAND'S FIRST SETTLERS WERE BOLD,

ARRIVING HERE FROM OLD EUROPE IN THE TENTH

CENTURY TO CREATE A NEW WAY OF LIFE AND A NEW FORM

OF GOVERNMENT.

A THOUSAND YEARS LATER, ICELAND BECAME THE FIRST

COUNTRY TO ELECT A FEMALE HEAD OF STATE IN 1980.

THREE YEARS LATER, THE FIRST EVER EXCLUSIVELY

FEMALE PARTY WINS SEATS IN PARLIAMENT.

TODAY, BASED ON POPULATION,

ICELAND'S CRIME RATE, UNEMPLOYMENT,

AND CHILD MORTALITY RATES ARE THE LOWEST WORLDWIDE,

AND ICELAND COMES OUT ON TOP FOR LIFE EXPECTANCY,

INCOME, AND LEVEL OF EDUCATION.

IT'S NO WONDER THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND ARE SAID TO BE

THE HAPPIEST IN THE WORLD.

THERE ARE TWO ELEMENTS THAT HAVE ALWAYS

CHARACTERIZED ICELAND'S LANDSCAPE,

FIRE AND ICE.

HUGE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS FREQUENTLY OCCUR BENEATH

THE GROUND.

FROM A GEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE,

ICELAND, AT JUST TEN TO 15 MILLION YEARS OF AGE,

IS ONE OF THE YOUNGEST REGIONS ON EARTH.

ICELAND ALSO HAPPENS TO BE LOCATED ON THE

MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE.

NEW OCEANIC CRUSTS ARE CONSTANTLY BEING FORMED,

RESULTING IN THE AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN CONTINENTAL

PLATES SLIDING TWO CENTIMETERS FARTHER APART

EACH YEAR.

THE MOVEMENT OF THE CONTINENTAL PLATES CREATES

GREAT GAPING GORGES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

BESIDES A HANDFUL OF IRISH MONKS,

THE ISLAND WAS FIRST SETTLED IN THE NINTH

CENTURY BY VIKINGS FROM NORWAY.

THE VIKINGS LIVED ON FARMS LIKE THESE.

IF A NORSEMAN WENT PLUNDERING,

HE WAS CALLED A VIKING.

VIKING WAS THEREFORE JUST A TEMPORARY PROFESSIONAL

TITLE, BUT THE NAME CAUGHT ON,

DESPITE THE MAJORITY BEING PEACEFUL PEASANTS AND

CRAFTSMEN.

THEIR TRADITIONAL LONGHOUSES BUILT FROM

WOOD, PEAT, AND TURF PROVIDED PROTECTION FROM

THE WIND AND COLD, BUT WHAT COMPELLED THESE FEW

PIONEERS TO SETTLE ON THIS COLD AND ISOLATED ISLAND

AT THE END OF THE WORLD?

WATER.

CRYSTAL CLEAR DRINKING WATER IS STILL AVAILABLE

IN ABUNDANCE IN ICELAND, BUT IT IS ONLY IN COASTAL

AND PROTECTED AREAS THAT VEGETATION HAS A CHANCE OF

SURVIVAL.

PUT THE TWO TOGETHER, AND YOU HAVE DECENT CONDITIONS

FOR SUCCESSFUL PASTURE FARMING.

THREE-QUARTERS OF THE COUNTRY IS MADE UP OF

GLACIERS, WILD RIVERS, AND INFERTILE,

BARREN LAND.

UP UNTIL THE TIME THE VIKINGS SETTLED HERE,

THERE WERE NO MAMMALS IN ICELAND APART FROM ARCTIC

FOXES.

THE EARLY SETTLERS BROUGHT PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING

WITH FOUR LEGS.

THERE ARE STILL MORE SHEEP THAN PEOPLE IN ICELAND

TODAY.

ICELAND COVERS AN AREA OF ABOUT 39,000

SQUARE MILES, WHICH MAKES IT THE WORLD'S 18TH

LARGEST ISLAND.

IT'S JUST UNDER HALF THE SIZE OF GREAT BRITAIN,

BUT UNLIKE THE UK, THE MAJORITY OF ICELAND IS

UNSETTLED TUNDRA.

SOMETIMES THE FREEZING COLD CAN TAKE OVER THE

ENTIRE ISLAND, AND THAT'S WHEN THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND

HAVE TO GET CREATIVE.

COMING UP NEXT, WHEN FARMING FAILS,

THE ICELANDIC SETTLERS HAVE TO TURN TO NEW

HORIZONS TO SURVIVE, AND LATER,

WE SEE HOW ICELAND IS HARNESSING THE POWERS OF

THEIR NATURAL RESOURCES TO PROPEL THEMSELVES INTO THE

MODERN WORLD.

"JOURNEY" WILL BE RIGHT BACK.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO "JOURNEY." I'M DYLAN

DREYER.

ADAPTATION IS A VITAL PART OF SURVIVAL,

ESPECIALLY ON A LARGE REMOTE ISLAND LIKE

ICELAND.

WITH NO ONE TO SWOOP IN AND HELP WHEN TIMES WERE

HARD, THE EARLY SETTLERS OF ICELAND HAD TO MAKE DO

WITH WHAT THE ISLAND AND THE SEA COULD PROVIDE.

THE FIRST SETTLERS FROM NORWAY BROUGHT THEIR

DRAMATIC MYTHS WITH THEM.

THEY FEARED ODIN AND THOR.

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WAS CONNECTED TO THE WORLD OF

MORTALS WITH THE HELP OF A RAINBOW-LIKE BRIDGE THAT

STRETCHED ACROSS THE SKY AND BEGAN HERE AT THE

WATERFALL OF THE GODS.

AROUND THE YEAR 1000, SOMETHING HAPPENED IN THE

SOUTHWEST OF ICELAND THAT FOR A TIME WAS QUITE

UNBELIEVABLE.

THE ICELANDIC SETTLERS TURNED THEIR BACKS ON

GOVERNMENT FOUNDED BY A KING,

AND INSTEAD, THEY CREATED A PARLIAMENT OF ELECTED

PEOPLE.

IT'S ONE OF THE OLDEST EXISTING PARLIAMENTS IN

THE WORLD AND THE OLDEST DEMOCRACY IN EUROPE.

WHEN A GERMAN HISTORIAN NAMED ADAM VON BREMEN

VISITED THE ISLAND AROUND THE YEAR 1060,

HE WROTE IN DISBELIEF, "THEY DON'T HAVE KINGS,

ONLY LAWS."

HOW DID THE ICELANDERS COME UP WITH AN IDEA

OF GOVERNMENT CENTURIES AHEAD OF ITS TIME?

PROBABLY BECAUSE ONLY TOGETHER THEY COULD MASTER

THE TOUGH LIVING CONDITIONS HERE AT THE END

OF THE WORLD.

TO THEM, SURVIVAL WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN DOMINION.

THE GREAT NUMBER OF SEABIRDS ARE A SIGN OF THE

RICH BOUNTY OF THE OCEAN, SEAGULLS,

TERNS, RAZORBILLS, OYSTER-CATCHERS.

THE LIST OF SEABIRDS NATIVE TO ICELAND IS A

LONG ONE.

THERE ARE OVER 370 SPECIES OF BIRDS HERE.

WITH A POPULATION OF THREE TO FOUR MILLION,

THERE ARE MORE PUFFINS HERE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN

THE WORLD.

THIS EXOTIC BIRD, WHOSE SPECIES IS ENDANGERED,

IS AN EXCELLENT SWIMMER THAT HAS BEEN SEEN AT

DEPTHS OF OVER 150 FEET.

FISH, IN ADDITION TO LAMB AND HORSE MEAT,

COMMONLY FEATURED ON VIKING DINNER TABLES,

AS DID BIRDS' EGGS IF THE FAMILY HAPPENED TO HAVE A

FEARLESS CLIMBER.

TOWARDS THE END OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD IN THE

15TH CENTURY, GLOBAL WEATHER PATTERNS CAUSED A

MINI ICE AGE, AND ICELAND FROZE OVER,

PUTTING AN END TO MUCH OF THE COUNTRY'S FARMING.

THIS SPELLED DISASTER FOR THE ALREADY COLD ISLAND.

THE GLACIERS ADVANCED EVEN DEEPER INTO THE VALLEYS

AND FJORDS, WHICH UNTIL THAT POINT HAD BEEN

FERTILE.

UNLIKE THEIR COUNTERPARTS IN EUROPE,

ICELANDIC FARMERS HAD ONLY THEIR SHEEP LEFT TO FARM

AFTER THEIR CROPS FROZE.

IN ICELAND, A RICH PERSON SUDDENLY BECAME SOMEONE

WHO HAD LOTS OF SHEEP.

EVEN TODAY, THE ICELANDIC FE MEANS BOTH "SHEEP" AND

"MONEY."

[SHEEP BAAING]

DURING THE MINI ICE AGE, EVERYDAY LIFE DID NOT GET

ANY EASIER FOR THE ICELANDERS.

ALONG WITH THE CHANGE IN CLIMATE,

THEY SUFFERED CONSTANT VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS AS WELL

AS PLAGUE AND SMALLPOX EPIDEMICS.

THE RESULT WAS WIDESPREAD FAMINE WITH LESS THAN HALF

OF THE POPULATION SURVIVING.

BARELY A FAMILY OR FARM WAS NOT AFFECTED.

THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND HAVE LEARNED TO SURVIVE OVER

COUNTLESS YEARS OF HARDSHIP,

TRIAL AND ERROR.

TODAY, PEOPLE UNDERSTAND BETTER THAN EVER THAT THE

KEY TO LIVING IN ICELAND IS TO WORK TOGETHER.

COMING UP NEXT, THE BUBBLING SURFACE OF THE

EARTH GIVES ICELAND A COMPETITIVE EDGE,

AND LATER, WE'LL SEE HOW A TOURISM BOOM IS CHANGING

THIS REMOTE ISLAND.

DON'T GO AWAY.

"JOURNEY" WILL RETURN AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: INCREDIBLY, ICELAND IS HOME TO ABOUT 130

VOLCANOES.

LUCKILY, CLOSE TO A HUNDRED OF THOSE HAVEN'T

ERUPTED IN A THOUSAND YEARS AND ARE CONSIDERED

INACTIVE.

THE REMAINING ACTIVE VOLCANOES ARE CREATING NEW

ISLANDS AND EXPANDING ICELAND'S LAND MASS.

THEY ALSO CREATE STUNNING NATURAL HOT SPRINGS AND

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES FEW OTHER ISLANDS HAVE.

LIVING IN ICELAND ISN'T EASY...

...ESPECIALLY FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED BEFORE

ELECTRIC HEATERS.

BUT AS A MINOR COMPENSATION FOR THE TOUGH

CLIMATE, THE EARLY VIKING SETTLERS HAD HOT SPRINGS.

THESE NATURAL BATHTUBS ARE FOUND ALL OVER THE ISLAND.

VIKINGS SETTLED THEIR HOME AND VILLAGES NEAR THEM

EVERY CHANCE THEY GOT.

VIKINGS THAT DIDN'T HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR OWN SPRING

VISITED OTHERS TO BATHE.

THESE HOT SPOTS WERE POPULAR MEETING POINTS

EVEN IN MEDIEVAL ICELAND.

PEOPLE WOULD NEED TO CONVERSE,

RELAX, OR DO BUSINESS, AND THAT HAS REMAINED THE CASE

TO THIS DAY.

YOU MEET UP AT THE HOT POT.

IT APPEARS THAT IT WAS THIS THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD

INSTITUTION THAT PROMOTED THE COMING TOGETHER OF

ICELANDIC SOCIETY.

IT CAN'T BE FACTUALLY PROVEN,

BUT MOST ICELANDERS BELIEVE THE STORY TO BE

TRUE.

IN ADDITION TO COUNTLESS HOT SPRINGS,

THERE ARE AROUND 170 GEOTHERMALLY HEATED

OUTDOOR POOLS IN ICELAND.

THE MOST FAMOUS IS CALLED THE BLUE LAGOON.

GEYSER IS DERIVED FROM THE ICELANDIC WORD WHICH MEANS

TO GUSH OR TO ERUPT.

THERE ARE RECORDS OF THIS GREAT GEYSER AS EARLY AS

THE 13TH CENTURY.

IT SPRAYS A ONE-HUNDRED-FOOT JET OF

BOILING WATER INTO THE AIR EVERY SEVEN MINUTES.

MYVATN LAKE IS SURROUNDED BY VOLCANIC CRATERS,

LAVA FIELDS, AND WHAT ARE KNOWN AS ACTIVE

HIGH-TEMPERATURE AREAS.

HERE, RUMBLES CAN BE HEARD BELOW IN THE HOT

UNDERLYING SURFACE, WHILE ALL KINDS OF MUD POOLS

STIR UP SULFUROUS MISCHIEF.

ICELAND PRODUCES MORE ENERGY THAN IT CAN

CONSUME.

GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS USE THE WARMTH OF THE

EARTH TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY.

THEY CAPTURE THE STEAM FROM HOT WATER RESERVOIRS

LIKE GEYSERS AND USE THAT TO POWER GENERATORS,

HEAT APARTMENTS OR GREENHOUSES.

THE NUMBER OF TOMATOES GROWN IN GREENHOUSES HAS

INCREASED TENFOLD SINCE THE '60'S FROM TWO HUNDRED

TO TWO THOUSAND TONS.

THANKS TO GEOTHERMAL ENERGY,

GREENHOUSES DO NOT CONTRIBUTE TO THE

GREENHOUSE EFFECT AND ARE FAR BETTER FOR THE

ENVIRONMENT.

DESPITE GENERALLY HAVING AN ECOLOGICAL APPROACH,

ICELAND IS MORE WASTEFUL THAN ALMOST EVERY OTHER

COUNTRY ON EARTH.

PER CAPITA, ONLY THE USA CONSUMES MORE ELECTRICITY

AND OWNS MORE CARS THAN ICELAND.

"JOURNEY" WILL BE RIGHT BACK.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: SINCE SCIENTISTS HAVE BEGUN MEASURING THE

QUALITY OF LIFE AROUND THE GLOBE,

THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND HAVE MANAGED TO STAY NEAR THE

TOP OF THE LIST.

TRAVELERS FROM THE FAR CORNERS OF OUR PLANET COME

TO THE ISLAND ALL LOOKING FOR WHAT MAKES THIS PLACE

SO SPECIAL, AND AS TOURISM HAS BECOME MORE VITAL TO

THE ECONOMY, ICELAND HAS UNDERGONE A RADICAL

CHANGE.

YOU CAN THINK OF ICELAND LIKE THE AMERICAN WILD

WEST.

PEOPLE HERE SHARE A COMMON BOND WITH AMERICAN

PIONEERS LIKE HARD WORK AND A LOVE OF FREEDOM.

PEOPLE LIVE IN THE HERE AND NOW AND LOOK LESS TO

THE PAST.

THEIR OPTIMISM IS ANOTHER TRAIT THAT ICELANDERS

SHARE WITH AMERICANS, WHO ALSO EMIGRATED FROM

MAINLAND EUROPE.

FOR DECADES, ICELAND'S ECONOMY HAS RELIED ON FISH

EXPORT.

IN RECENT YEARS, HOWEVER, TOURISM HAS OVERTAKEN IT

AS THE MOST IMPORTANT EXPORT INDUSTRY.

TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE EVER-INCREASING INFLUX OF

VISITORS, NEW BUILDINGS ARE BEING CONSTRUCTED

EVERYWHERE.

THE NUMBER OF OVERNIGHT STAYS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS

IN ICELAND HAS INCREASED ALMOST 20-FOLD SINCE 1980,

WHICH IS WHY MANY PEOPLE ARE NOW CALLING FOR

TOURISM TO BE CONTAINED.

A MILLENNIUM AFTER THE FOUNDING OF THE REPUBLIC,

ICELAND HAS NOW ENTERED ITS SECOND GOLDEN AGE.

THEIR PREVIOUSLY INHOSPITABLE NATURAL

ENVIRONMENT IS NOW GIVING BACK.

ICELANDERS HAVE HAD NO OTHER OPTION THROUGHOUT

THEIR HISTORY, AND THEY HAD TO FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL

FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, A TEST THEY PASSED WITH

FLYING COLORS.

IT'S WHAT MADE THEM STRONG.

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER BERTRAND RUSSELL MADE A

SURPRISING DISCOVERY WHEN HE VISITED ICELAND A

HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

PEACE, QUIET, AND BOREDOM DON'T HAVE TO BE SEEN AS

NEGATIVE THINGS.

IN FACT, THEY PROVIDE THE PERFECT CONDITIONS FOR

BEING HAPPY.

[HORSES NEIGHING]

PERHAPS THE SECRET TO THE GOOD LIFE ISN'T VERY

COMPLICATED AFTER ALL.

EVEN AT 15 MILLION YEARS OLD,

THE ISLAND OF ICELAND IS STILL CHANGING AND

GROWING.

AS MORE PEOPLE VISIT THE NATION AND THE ECONOMY

CONTINUES TO SHIFT, THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT.

ONE THING SEEMS SAFE TO SAY;

THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND WILL FIND A WAY TO SURVIVE HERE

FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF THE

ARCTIC CIRCLE.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ CREDITS ♪