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 ...

. 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. The island's only settlement is Sandvík.

Geography

Grímsey is the northernmost inhabited Icelandic territory; the rapidly disappearing islet of Kolbeinsey 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 fi ...

, to the south. The

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, which brings warm water from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an 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 United ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

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 envir ...

breeding colonies of black-legged kittiwakes, Atlantic puffins,

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 im ...

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 t ...

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 oft ...

. Agriculture and collecting seabird eggs are also common. Grímsey is a popular tourist destination for visitors seeking an

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 dist ...

-playing. On learning this, the American scholar and keen chess player Willard Fiske 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 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 Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the m ...

. There are regular flights to Akureyri. A ferry connects the island three days a week with Dalvík on the mainland.

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