The Snæfellsnes () is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

situated to the west of Borgarfjörður, in western

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 ...

. The Snæfellsjökull

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...

, regarded as one of the

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

s of Iceland, can be found in the area. With its height of 1446 m, it is the highest mountain on the peninsula and has a glacier at its peak (''jökull'' means "glacier" in Icelandic). The volcano can be seen on clear days from

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

, a distance of about 120 km. The mountain is also known as the setting of the novel ''

Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...

'' by the French author

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

. The area surrounding Snæfellsjökull has been designated one of the four National Parks by the government of Iceland. It is also the home of the Ingjaldsholl church, a Protestant church. The peninsula is one of the main settings in the '' Laxdœla saga'' and it was, according to this saga, the birthplace of the first West Norse member of the

Varangian Guard The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varang ...

, Bolli Bollasson. Other historical people who lived in the area according to the saga include Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, Bolli Þorleiksson and

Snorri Goði Snorri Þorgrímsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) or Snorri Goði (O.N.: ; M.I.: ; 963–1031) was a prominent chieftain in Western Iceland, who featured in a number of Icelandic sagas. The main source of his life is the '' Eyrbyggja saga ...

Local fishing villages and small towns on the northern shore of Snæfellsnes include

Arnarstapi Arnarstapi () or Stapi is a small fishing village at the foot of Mt. Stapafell between Hellnar village and Breiðavík farms on the southern side of Snæfellsnes, Iceland. Placenames in the vicinity of Arnarstapi and nearby Hellnar village ...

Hellnar Hellnar () is an ancient fishing village, a cluster of old houses and buildings situated close to Arnarstapi on the westernmost part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, Iceland. Although Hellnar village used to be a major port of call for fishing vess ...

Rif The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterrane ...

, Ólafsvík, Grundarfjörður and Stykkishólmur. Near Hellissandur is the tallest structure in

western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, the Longwave Radio Mast at Hellissandur. In June 2008, the people of Snaefellsnes reached certification status as an EarthCheck community,Is EarthCheck community standard an effective sustainable tourism management tool? : a case study on Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland http://hdl.handle.net/1946/9497 becoming the first EarthCheck-certified area in Iceland and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and only the fourth in the world. Snaefellsnes has been committed to the EarthCheck programme since 2003 and has been successfully benchmarked for the past five consecutive years.

References

External links

Information on the national park

Photo of mountain Kirkjufell near Grundarfjörður Official website, WesticelandSnæfellsnes Peninsula
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snaefellsnes Peninsulas of Iceland

See also

References

External links