Grímsey () is a small Icelandic island, off the north coast of the main island of Iceland, where it straddles the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. Grímsey is also known for the puffins and other sea birds which visit the island for breeding. The island is administratively part of the municipality of

Akureyri Akureyri (, ) is a town in northern Iceland, the country's fifth most populous Municipalities of Iceland, municipality (under the official name of Akureyrarbær , 'town of Akureyri') and the largest outside the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital R ...

on the mainland; before 2009 it constituted the

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

of Grímseyjarhreppur . The island's only settlement is Sandvík . In 2021 Grímsey had 57 inhabitants. The island is accessible by regular ferry and air passenger service.

Geography

Grímsey is the northernmost inhabited Icelandic territory; the rapidly disappearing islet of Kolbeinsey lies some farther north, but has never been habitable. The closest land is the coastal island of Flatey, Skjálfandi, to the south. There are steep cliffs all along the coastline except on the southwestern shore. Grímsey has an area of , and a maximum elevation of .

Arctic Circle

The

runs through the island, which attracts many of the island's visitors, as it is the only accessible location in Iceland that far north. However, due to long-term oscillations in the Earth's axis, the Arctic Circle is shifting northward by about per year (varying substantially from year to year due to the complexity of the movement). As of 2020, the place where the line crosses the island is close to the northern tip and by the middle of the 21st century it will pass north of Grimsey altogether. There are three permanent markers for historical positions of the Arctic Circle, placed in 1717, 1817, and 1917. In 2017, a movable monument – an eight-tonne stone sphere dubbed "Orbis et Globus" – was placed on the circle, and is periodically moved to the corrected location. The Arctic Circle has crossed Grímsey since 1750, but will move northward from the island around the year 2047. For this moment it is planned to roll the sphere "Orbis et Globus" into the ocean.

Climate

Despite the northerly latitude, the climate is generally mild because of the North Atlantic Current, which brings warm water from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. 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.

Biology

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 Auks or alcids are birds of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the Uria, murres, guillemots, Aethia, auklets, puffins, and Brachyramphus, murrelets. The family contains 25 extant or recently extinct speci ...

s. accessed 1 Marcy 2015.

Gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

s and arctic terns also inhabit the island. The island has been designated an Important Bird Area (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 i ...

because it supports large

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

breeding colonies of black-legged kittiwakes,

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

s, razorbills and

common murre The common murre or common guillemot (''Uria aalge'') is a large auk. It has a Subarctic, 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 ...

Economy and society

The origin of the name is uncertain. The island is not mentioned in the ''book of settlements''. It may be named after a man named Grím, otherwise unknown The principal industrial activity is

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

. Agriculture and collecting seabird eggs are also common. Grímsey Airport has a 1,036m north–south runway on the west side of the island, with regular flights to

. A ferry connects the island three days a week with Dalvík on the mainland. The single settlement on the southwest side of the island is officially known as Sandvík. It 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.) Grímsey has two small hotels, a camp ground, and a nine-hole disc golf course. The island has acquired a reputation for being a bastion of

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

-playing. On learning this in the 1870s, American scholar and keen chess player Willard Fiske took an interest in Grímsey, sending supplies, supporting the economy, and leaving money in his will, though he never visited the island. The Protestant Church on Grímsey was destroyed by a fire in September 2021. It had been built from driftwood in 1867 and renovated in 1956. A choir and tower were added in 1932. The nave was roughly 7.7 metres in length and 4.75 metres broad.

Gallery

References

Sources

*''Places along the way...Grímsey'', published by Bókaútgafan að Hofi

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