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Vestfirðir
The Westfjords or West Fjords ( is, Vestfirðir , ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district, the least populous administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coast of Greenland. It is connected to the rest of Iceland by a seven-kilometre-wide isthmus between Gilsfjörður and Bitrufjörður . The Westfjords are very mountainous; the coastline is heavily indented by dozens of fjords surrounded by steep hills. These indentations make roads very circuitous and communications by land difficult. In addition many of the roads are closed by ice and snow for several months of the year. The Vestfjarðagöng road tunnel from 1996 has improved that situation. The cliffs at Látrabjarg comprise the longest bird cliff in the northern Atlantic Ocean and are at the westernmost point in Iceland. The Drangajökull glacier is located in the north of the peninsula and is the fifth-largest of the country, but the only ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vestfirðir Features
The Westfjords or West Fjords ( is, Vestfirðir , ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district, the least populous administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coast of Greenland. It is connected to the rest of Iceland by a seven-kilometre-wide isthmus between Gilsfjörður and Bitrufjörður . The Westfjords are very mountainous; the coastline is heavily indented by dozens of fjords surrounded by steep hills. These indentations make roads very circuitous and communications by land difficult. In addition many of the roads are closed by ice and snow for several months of the year. The Vestfjarðagöng road tunnel from 1996 has improved that situation. The cliffs at Látrabjarg comprise the longest bird cliff in the northern Atlantic Ocean and are at the westernmost point in Iceland. The Drangajökull glacier is located in the north of the peninsula and is the fifth-largest of the country, but the only ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolungarvík
Bolungarvík (, regionally also ) is a small town and the only built-up area in the municipality of Bolungarvíkurkaupstaður in the northwest of Iceland, located on the Westfjords peninsula, approximately from the town of Ísafjörður and from the capital city Reykjavík. Bolungarvík is close to abundant fishing grounds and has been used as an outpost for fishing since the 17th century, making it one of the earliest in Iceland. The village was not accessible by road until 1950, and in 2010 the Bolungarvíkurgöng tunnel was opened under the Óshlíð mountain to bypass the old road, which was frequently subject to avalanches and rock falls. Tourist sites include the Ósvör Maritime Museum, featuring a restored 19th-century fishing hut, a natural history museum, which houses taxidermied animals including a polar bear and the biggest bird collection in Iceland, and an indoor swimming pool with outdoor hot tubs and a water slide. Skálavík bay can be reached by a gravel road f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ísafjörður
Ísafjörður (pronounced , meaning ''ice fjord'', literally ''fjord of ices'') is a town in the northwest of Iceland. The oldest part of Ísafjörður with the town centre is located on a spit of sand, or ''eyri'', in Skutulsfjörður, a fjord which meets the waters of the larger fjord Ísafjarðardjúp. With a population of about 2,600, Ísafjörður is the largest settlement in the peninsula of Vestfirðir (Westfjords) and the administration centre of the Ísafjarðarbær municipality, which includes—besides Ísafjörður—the nearby villages of Hnífsdalur, Flateyri, Suðureyri, and Þingeyri. History According to the Landnámabók (the book of settlement), Skutulsfjörður was first settled by Helgi Magri Hrólfsson in the 9th century. In the 16th century, the town grew as it became a trading post for foreign merchants. Witch trials were common around the same time throughout the Westfjords, and many people were banished to the nearby peninsula of Hornstrandir, now a na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slaying Of The Spaniards
The Slaying of the Spaniards (also known as the Spanish Killings; is, Spánverjavígin ) was the last documented massacre in Icelandic history. Some Basque whalers went on a whaling expedition to Iceland and were killed after conflict in 1615 with local people in the region of the Westfjords. Background In the first half of the seventeenth century Spanish whalers set up the world's first large-scale whaling industry in Newfoundland. The center of this industry was some ten ports on the southern coast of Labrador. During the peak years of the 1560s and 1570s the fleet comprised around 30 ships manned by up to 2,000 men, who killed approximately 400 whales each year. By the beginning of the seventeenth century Spanish whaling had reached Iceland. Massacre The year 1615 was a difficult year in Iceland with ice up to shores until late summer and considerable loss of livestock. In mid-summer three Spanish whaling vessels put into Reykjarfjörður in Westfjords. Icelanders and the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drangajökull
Drangajökull (, regionally also ) is the northernmost glacier of Iceland. It is situated southwest of the peninsula Hornstrandir in the Westfjords region. The glacier covers an area of , at an altitude of up to . It is the only Icelandic glacier which lies entirely below an altitude of 1000 metres and also the only one that has not shrunk in recent years. See also * Fjords of Iceland * Glaciers of Iceland The glaciers and ice caps of Iceland cover 11% of the land area of the country (about 11,400 km² out of the total area of 103,125 km²) and have a considerable impact on its landscape and meteorology. Glaciers are also contributing to ... Westfjords Glaciers of Iceland {{Iceland-glacier-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Þingeyri
Þingeyri (, regionally also ) is a settlement in the municipality of Ísafjarðarbær, Iceland. It is located on the coast of Dýrafjörður fjord in the mountainous peninsula Westfjords (in Icelandic written Vestfirðir). On 1 January 2019, it had a population of 246. It has an airport. Continually inhabited since 1787,''Íslenska alfræðiorðabókin'', p. 563. Þingeyri is one of the oldest settlements in the WestfjordsLeffman, p. 207. and the first trading post established there.Simmonds, p. 243.Harding, p. 160. It is believed to derive its name from a medieval assembly (''þing'') and has ruins of a medieval booth believed to have been used by visitors to the assembly. Thanks to its sheltered location Þingeyri developed into a significant fishing center. In the 19th century the French applied for permission to establish a base there to support their fishing operations in the area but were turned down. From 1884-98, the town served as the base for American halibut fish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patreksfjörður
Patreksfjörður (, "Patrick's fjord") is an Icelandic village in the Westfjords with 721 inhabitants (2021 census). The town was named after Bishop of the Isles#List of known bishops of Iona, Patrick bishop in the Hebrides who was the spiritual guide of Örlygur Hrappson, the original settler in the area who came from the Hebrides. Its economy is mainly based on its fisheries. Amenities include a swimming pool, bank, campsite, four guesthouses, a hotel, two restaurants, two cafes and a gas station. In town is a hospital, police station and the town hall for the Municipality of Vesturbyggd. Olympian Leiknir Jónsson was born here. Climate Patreksfjörður has a tundra climate (ET). Transport Patreksfjörður Airport is an unscheduled airport located across the fjord, nearly south of the town. The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bíldudalur Airport, from Patreksfjörður. Eagle Air (Iceland), Eagle Air connects Bíldudalur Airport, Bíldudalur and Reykjavik w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Súðavík
Súðavík () is a fishing village and municipality (Súðavíkurhreppur ) on the west coast of Álftafjörður in Westfjords, Iceland. History On January 16, 1995, an avalanche fell on the village early in the morning (around 6:25 am) and destroyed several buildings, most of them residents' houses. Fourteen people were killed (including eight children) and twelve were injured. Severe snow storms made the rescue work difficult and dangerous. The final survivor was rescued 23 hours after the avalanche had fallen, and the search continued into the evening of January 17. A disaster relief fund was established, and within a week, the Icelandic public had donated 300 million kroner (about $3,000,000) to the relief effort. The same winter, two more avalanches fell from Traðargil , destroying several houses; the areas hit had already been evacuated, so no more people died. Avalanches fell from many other gullies and mountainsides during the avalanche cycle that winter. At a public mee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bíldudalur
Bíldudalur () is a village situated on the coast of Arnarfjörður, one of the Westfjords in Iceland. It is situated in the Vesturbyggð municipality and has 238 inhabitants (as of January 2021). The village prospered in the 19th century thanks to sound business enterprise and the booming fishing industry. Ólafur Thorlacius (1761–1815) set up business in Bíldudalur following the end of the Danish trade monopoly. He was one of the most influential businessmen in Iceland at the beginning of the 19th century. He bought and sold fish, traded goods and ran his own small fishing fleet. One of his successors, Pétur J. Thorsteinsson (1854–1924) successfully continued this operation. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the decline of the fishing industry and the imposition of strict quotas by the Icelandic government led the town to diversify its economy. The village is now home to a factory, which provides employment to many residents, processing a mineral-rich algae f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its surrounding areas) is home to over 65% of the population. Iceland is the biggest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate. According to the ancient manuscript , the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skálanes
Skálanes () Nature and Heritage Centre is placed within a 1250 hectare nature reserve situated on a peninsula 17 km east of Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland. The reserve has a rich natural and historical life consisting of native plants, a wide range of wildlife consisting of 47 different bird species, local reindeer herds, arctic foxes, and more than 80 archaeological sites. Skálanes works as an independent, non-profit natural science research station and a member of INTERACT - International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic. Skálanes is collaborating with a wide range of International and Icelandic researchers and natural science institutes, hosting week-long excursions for university students and professors, developing educational material for young learners, and engaging with non-scientific communities and crowds offering guided hikes and talks on the local landscape and the natural fauna. The intention of Skálanes is to create an experiment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hnífsdalur
Hnífsdalur () is a small village in the municipality of Ísafjarðarbær, located between Bolungarvík and Ísafjörður. The literal meaning of the name is "Knife's Valley". Some guess that the thin or sharp line of the mountain range resembles that of a knife. No mention is made of the place in the '' Book of Settlement''. History In 1910 an avalanche killed 20 people in Hnífsdalur, one of the deadliest in Iceland in the 20th century. On 25 September 2010, Bolungarvíkurgöng, a 5,156 m (16,916 ft) tunnel between Hnífsdalur and neighbouring town Bolungarvík Bolungarvík (, regionally also ) is a small town and the only built-up area in the municipality of Bolungarvíkurkaupstaður in the northwest of Iceland, located on the Westfjords peninsula, approximately from the town of Ísafjörður and from ..., was opened. References Populated places in Westfjords {{Iceland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
