ABSTRACTRecent reviews of the development of palaeomagnetic techniques in geology have shown that palaeomagnetism has contributed significantly to the acceptance of new concepts in global tectonics. The present paper extends Frankel's (1987) review of palaeomagnetic work on the basalt lava sequences of Iceland in the early 1950s. These lavas provide some of the most complete series of reliable ‘spot readings’ of the geomagnetic field available. It is shown that research on Icelandic basalts has continued to be of importance in improving our understanding of palaeomagnetism and its applicati