Húnaþing vestra () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

located in northern

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Húnaflói (, ) is a bay of the Iceland Sea in Northwestern Region (Iceland), Northwestern Region and Westfjords, Iceland. It is situated between the village of Strandir on peninsula to the west and the of Skagi peninsula to the east. Spanning , it has a ...

gulf. It was founded on 7 June 1998 by the merging of all 7 of the old rural municipalities of

Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla Iceland was historically divided into 23 counties known as ''sýslur'' (), and 23 independent towns known as ''kaupstaðir'' (). Iceland is now split up between 24 sýslumenn (magistrates) that are the highest authority over the local police ( ...

. They were: Staðarhreppur, Fremri-Torfustaðahreppur, Ytri-Torfustaðahreppur, Kirkjuhvammshreppur, Hvammstangahreppur, Þverárhreppur and Þorkelshólshreppur. On 1 January 2012, the municipality was merged with the county of

Bæjarhreppur Bæjarhreppur () is a former municipality in Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is cultur ...

but kept the name Húnaþing vestra. Húnaþing vestra consists of the three fjords

Hrútafjörður Hrútafjörður () is a fjord in the north-west of Iceland. It is around 36 km long and lies to the south of Húnaflói (, ) is a bay of the Iceland Sea in Northwestern Region (Iceland), Northwestern Region and Westfjords, Iceland. It is ...

Miðfjörður Miðfjörður () is a small fjord as well as a conjoined valley in the northwest of Iceland.Íslandshandbókin. Náttúra, saga of sérkenni. Reykjavík 1989, pp.329-330 The fjord has a length of 14 km and a width of up to 3,5 km. The ...

, and Húnafjörður. Between are the peninsulas of Heggstaðanes and

Vatnsnes Vatnsnes () is a peninsula jutting into Húnaflói in northern Iceland. It is surrounded by waters of Miðfjörður on the west and Húnafjörður on the east. It is home to one of the largest seal colonies in Iceland, among others at Hindisví ...

. Its major settlement is

Hvammstangi Hvammstangi () is an Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically lin ...

, but it also has the villages of Laugabakki, Reykir and

Borðeyri Borðeyri () is a hamlet in Húnaþing vestra municipality of the Westfjords in northwest Iceland. It is a minor commercial centre for nearby farms. The population on 15 July 2018 was 16. Borðeyri was previously part of the municipality Bæjarh ...

References

External links

Official website
Municipalities of Iceland Northwestern Region (Iceland) {{Iceland-geo-stub