Hvalfjarðarsveit () is a municipality in

Vesturland Western Region ( is, Vesturland ) is one of the traditional eight regions of Iceland, located on the western coast of the island. It is the only region for which the largest town, Akranes, is not the municipal capital. {{iceland-g ...

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 ...

. The municipality derives its name from the fjord

Hvalfjörður Hvalfjörður (, "whale fjord") is situated in the west of Iceland between Mosfellsbær and Akranes. The fjord is approximately 30 km long and 5 km wide. The origin of the name Hvalfjörður is uncertain. Certainly today there is no pr ...

, which forms its southern border. The municipality formed on 1 June 2006, by the union of the former municipalities of Hvalfjarðarstrandarhreppur, Innri-Akraneshreppur, Leirár- og Melahreppur and Skilmannahreppur.

Geography

The shores of

Faxaflói Faxaflói (sometimes Faxa Bay, Faxe Bay or Faxi Bay,Thorstein Thorsteinsson. 1930. ''Iceland, 1930: A Handbook Published on the Fortieth Anniversary of Landsbanki Íslands (National Bank of Iceland)''. Reykjavík: Ríkisprentsmidjan Gutenberg. i ...

and

Borgarfjörður Borgarfjörður () is a fjord in the west of Iceland near the town of Borgarnes. Although the waters of Borgarfjörður appear calm, the fjord has significant undercurrents and shallows. The many flat islands lying in the fjord are for the most ...

form the region's southern and western borders. Hvalfjarðarsveit additionally borders the municipalities of

Kjósarhreppur Kjósarhreppur (), also known as Kjós , is a municipality in Iceland. It is the most northern part of the Capital Region and is adjacent to Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwester ...

in the south,

Akranes Akranes () is a port town and municipality on the west coast of Iceland, around north of the capital Reykjavík. The area where Akranes is located was settled in the 9th century; however, it did not receive a municipal charter until 1942. His ...

in the west, as well as

Borgarbyggð Borgarbyggð () is a municipality in the west of Iceland. The biggest township in the municipality is Borgarnes, with a population of 1,887 inhabitants. Other densely populated areas in the municipality include Bifröst, Hvanneyri, Kleppjárnsre ...

and Skorradalshreppur in the north, and

Bláskógabyggð Bláskógabyggð ( ) is a municipality located in western Iceland. Its major settlements are Laugarás and Laugarvatn Laugarvatn () is the name of a lake and a small town in the south of Iceland. The lake is smaller than the neighbouring Apavat ...

in the highlands to the east. The largest settlement in the municipality is Melahverfi with a population of 111 in 2016. Prominent mountains in Hvalfjarðarsveit (from west to east) include Akrafjall, Hafnarfjall, Skarðsheiði and Botnssúlur. Notable lakes (from west to east) include Lake Eiði, Hólmavatn, Eyrarvatn, Glammastaðavatn, Geitabergsvatn and Hvalvatn. Iceland's tallest waterfall, Glymur, forms part of the river Botnsá that runs from Hvalvatn into the eastern bottom of Hvalfjörður. Some 30 km of the Ring Road pass through Hvalfjarðarsveit, between the Hvalfjörður Tunnel in the south and Borgarnes in the north.

Economy

Although the region is mostly rural and scarcely populated, Grundartangi industrial area contains a significant part of Iceland's heavy industry, and one of the country's largest ports. The port of Grundartangi opened in 1978, is operated by Faxaflóahafnir and owned by some of the neighbouring municipalities. A ferrosilicon plant began operations in 1979 and is now the world's second largest producer, operated by

Elkem Elkem is a company that produces silicones, silicon, alloys for the foundry industry, carbon and microsilica, and other materials. Elkem was founded in 1904, has more than 7,000 employees and fields 30 production sites worldwide. Elkem has an ope ...

, a subsidiary of China National Bluestar Group. An aluminium plant began operations in 1998, operated by Norðurál, a subsidiary of

Century Aluminum Century Aluminum Company () is a US-based producer of primary aluminium, with aluminum plants in Kentucky, South Carolina and Iceland. It is the largest producer of primary aluminium in the United States. The company is a publicly held corporation ...

. Silicor Materials is currently planning to construct a solar silicon plant at Grundartangi. Pollution in the region caused by sulphur dioxide and fluorine emissions from the industrial area is controversial.

Notable people

* Pétur Ottesen (1888–1968), politician and farmer

References

External links

Official website
Municipalities of Iceland Populated places in Western Region (Iceland) Western Region (Iceland) {{Iceland-geo-stub