![GrímseyKirkjaInni](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Gr%C3%ADmseyKirkjaInni.jpg)
Grímsey () is a small Icelandic island, off the north coast of the
main island of Iceland, straddling the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...
. In January 2018 Grímsey had 61 inhabitants.
Before 2009, Grimsey constituted the ''
hreppur A hreppur () is a rural municipality in Iceland. These administrative units are primarily made up of rural villages, with few or no towns, and are headed by the .
It is one of the oldest Icelandic administrative units, probably dating back to befo ...
'' (municipality) of Grímseyjarhreppur . In that year, island residents voted to join the municipality with
Akureyri
Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner.
Nicknamed ...
. The island's only settlement is Sandvík.
Geography
Grímsey is the northernmost inhabited Icelandic territory; the rapidly disappearing islet of
Kolbeinsey
Kolbeinsey (; also known as Kolbeinn's Isle, Seagull Rock, Mevenklint, Mevenklip, or Meeuw Steen) is a small islet in the Greenland Sea located off the northern coast of Iceland, north-northwest of the island of Grímsey. It is the northernmos ...
lies some farther north, but is uninhabitable. The closest land is the island of
Flatey, Skjálfandi
Flatey () is an island on Skjálfandi bay located about from Húsavík, in northern Iceland. Its name in Icelandic means "flat island"; its highest point is only about above mean sea level, hence its name. It is long and wide. It is the fift ...
, to the south.
The
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...
currently runs through the island, a feature of interest to many visitors, while the entirety of mainland Iceland lies south of the Arctic Circle. Due to long-term oscillations in the Earth's axis, the Arctic Circle currently
shifts northward by about per year, though varying substantially from year to year due to the complexity of the movement. The true position of the Arctic Circle in the early 21st century is already close to the northern tip of the island, and by about the middle of the 21st century, it will no longer cross Grimsey at all. Originally a fixed monument to the Arctic Circle was placed at a conventional location. In 2017 a new monument, comprising an eight-tonne stone sphere, was placed close to the true current location of the circle, in response to its continual movement. Also, through the centuries three markers have been placed and marked with the calculated location: 1717, 1817, and 1917.
There are steep cliffs everywhere except on the southern shoreline. Grímsey has an area of , and a maximum elevation of .
Climate
Despite the northerly latitude, the climate is generally mild because of the
North Atlantic Current
The North Atlantic Current (NAC), also known as North Atlantic Drift and North Atlantic Sea Movement, is a powerful warm western boundary current within the Atlantic Ocean that extends the Gulf Stream northeastward.
The NAC originates from wher ...
, which brings warm water from the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
. The maximum daily mean temperature in any month falls short of 10 °C, so it is within a tundra (ET) climate. The record high temperature of Brú is registered on July 25, 1955.
[
]
Biodiversity
Though treeless, the island's vegetation cover is rich, consisting of marshland, grass, and moss, and the island is home to many birds, especially auk
An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (a ...
s.[ accessed 1 Marcy 2015.] Gull
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
s and arctic tern
The Arctic tern (''Sterna paradisaea'') is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south a ...
s also inhabit the island. The island has been designated an Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
(IBA) by BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
because it supports large seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
breeding colonies of black-legged kittiwake
The black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae.
This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' as ''Larus tridactylus''. The English ...
s, Atlantic puffin
The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin is found in the northeastern ...
s, razorbill
The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis impe ...
s and common murre
The common murre or common guillemot (''Uria aalge'') is a large auk. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to ...
s.
Economy and society
The principal industrial activity is commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...
. Agriculture and collecting seabird eggs are also common.[ Grímsey is a popular tourist destination for visitors seeking an ]Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...
experience. The island is served by regular ferry and aircraft passenger services from the mainland; there is a 3,400' north–south runway on the west side of the island.[
The island has acquired a reputation for being a bastion of ]chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
-playing. On learning this, the American scholar and keen chess player Willard Fiske
Daniel Willard Fiske (November 11, 1831 – September 17, 1904) was an American librarian and scholar, born on November 11, 1831, at Ellisburg, New York.
Biography
Fiske studied at Cazenovia Seminary and started his collegiate studies at Hamilt ...
took an interest in Grímsey in the 1870s, sending supplies, supporting the economy and leaving money in his will, though he never visited the island.
Infrastructure
The island has a community center, a shop, a library, a public indoor swimming pool and a school from kindergarten to Grade 8. Beyond this age, students travel to Akureyri for further education. The church was formerly a parsonage, and is situated at a place marked as Miðgarður on most maps of the island; however, the single settlement is officially known as Sandvík. Grímsey has two small hotels and a campsite.
Sights
The most famous sight is the Monument to the Arctic Circle in the northern part of the island. Many visitors enjoy observing the rich birdlife on the island. The Protestant Church on Grímsey was built from driftwood in 1867 and renovated in 1956. The nave was 7.69 metres in length and 4.77 metres broad. The choir and the tower were added in 1932. The church was part of the Akureyri
Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner.
Nicknamed ...
parish. There were four services per year. The church was completely destroyed in a fire, on the eve of September 22, 2021.
Transport
The island is served by Grímsey Airport
Grímsey Airport ( is, Grímseyjarflugvöllur ) is an airport serving Grímsey, a small island north of Iceland.
Airlines and destinations
Statistics Passengers and movements
See also
* Transport in Iceland
* List of airports in Iceland ...
. There are regular flights to Akureyri
Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner.
Nicknamed ...
. A ferry connects the island three days a week with Dalvík
Dalvík () is the main village of the Icelandic municipality of Dalvíkurbyggð. Its population is approximately 1,400. on the mainland.
See also
*List of extreme points of Iceland
This is a list of the extreme points of Iceland, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
Iceland (country)
* Northernmost point — Kolbeinsey, Eyjafjörður ()
* Northernmost settlement — Grí ...
References
Sources
*''Places along the way...Grímsey'', published by Bókaútgafan að Hofi
Further reading
*Jack, Robert, ''Arctic Living: the Story of Grimsey'', ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
foreword by Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Toronto, Ont.: Ryerson Press, 1955.
External links
Grímsey Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimsey
Populated places in the Arctic
Populated places in Northeastern Region (Iceland)
Akureyri
Important Bird Areas of Iceland
Islands of Iceland
Seabird colonies