Hornstrandir () is

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 s ...

's northernmost peninsula, covering at the northern end of the

Westfjords 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 ...

, to the north of the

Jökulfirðir The ''Jökulfirðir'' (, "glacier fjords") form a system of five fjords in Westfjords, Iceland, situated north of Ísafjarðardjúp and south of the Hornstrandir peninsula. They are named for '' Drangajökull'', a glacier situated to the south ...

and to the northwest of

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 glacie ...

glacier.

Ecosystem

The area covers of

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

and alpine land with rich but fragile vegetation, and protected as Hornstrandir Nature Reserve since 1975, under some of the strictest preservation rules in Iceland. The area's nature thrived as very few people resided there. In the 1950s also the handful of its residents who were based on agricultural livelihood left. However, decades later some of their descendants returned and rebuilt their old houses, and much of the land is privately owned.

, meaning Glacier Fjords, is the formation of five fjords and bays, four of which consist the entire southern land and most twisted coastline of Hornstrandir while the fifth (Leirufjörður) lies just south of the peninsula. From west to east, the four fjords consisting the south shore are Hesteyrarfjörður, Veiðileysufjörður, Lónafjörður, and Hrafnsfjörður, with the last forming the southwestern tip separating Hornstrandir from the rest of the Westfjords.

Tourism

Hornstrandir attracts both half-day visitors and hikers, and has three main attractions. One attraction is the bird cliffs surrounding the bay of Hornvík, reaching a height of more than 500 metres on the bay's eastern side and described as "a magnet of gigantic proportions" for teeming of birds. Second, what is described as an "unmatched pure and tranquil nature" and "strong sense of remoteness" for lack of infrastructure and few tourists in relation to the "sheer size" of the area; and that people can hike for days without seeing any other person. The third, which stems from the previous two, along with hunting-ban, is the land being a haven for the Arctic fox, with a description of high probability to spot one.

Gallery

Hornstrandir - Iceland - 2017 (36590305800).jpg Hornstrandir - Iceland - 2017 (36179154843).jpg Hornstrandir - Iceland - 2017 (36179159543).jpg Hornstrandir - Iceland - 2017 (36179258593).jpg

References

External links

Peninsulas of Iceland Westfjords {{Iceland-geo-stub