The ice-age we live in started about three million years ago. Yes, you read right by definition we are living in an ice-age. During this time there have been about 25 glacier periods and just as many inter glacier periods like the one we are living now. During the Glacier periods the ice covers all the land on the Northern hemisphere with about two kilometers thick ice. The last glacier period finished about 12-14 thousand years ago and in Iceland and most thaw glaciers areas like the alps there were no glaciers about 9000 years ago. They had all retreated and disappeared. Glaciers only started forming again about seven thousand years ago but didn't really start growing until 2500 years ago. The largest glacier in Iceland Vatnajökull is about 8000 km2. The ice you see on the picture comes from that glacier and is the snow that fell on the glacier 1000 years ago. The picture is taken at the Diamond beach by the glacier lagoon Jökulsárlón