The surface is generally mountainous

Iceland is noted for its volcanoes and glaciers. Its leading occupa tion is the raising of cattle. The religion is Luther an. The legislative government (according to the constitution of 1874) is vested in the king and a local a embly (Althing) with an upper chamber of 12 members and a lower chamber of 24 members; the executive being vested in a governor general appointed by the king. Iceland was settled in part by Irish monks (from about 795), and was mainly settled by North men about 870-930. Christianity was introduced about 1000. The island was united to Norway in 1262, and pa ed to Denmark in 1380. It was celebrated for its literary productivene in the 12th and 13th centuries. A new constitution was granted in 1874. Length, 300 miles. Area, 39,756 square miles. Population (1890), 70,927. Iceland, which had remained undiscovered till long after the days of Charles, was, down to the year 1262, the only absolutely free republic in the world.