Hvalfjörður (, "

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

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, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

") is situated in the west of

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 ...

between

Mosfellsbær Mosfellsbær (, colloquially Mosó) is a town in south-west Iceland, east of the country's capital, Reykjavík. The town of Mosfellsbær is a 15-minute drive from midtown Reykjavík. The district includes the Leiruvogur cove, which forms part of ...

and

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 ...

. The fjord is approximately 30 km long and 5 km wide. Rauðhöfði

The origin of the name Hvalfjörður is uncertain. Certainly today there is no presence of whales in the fjord; while there is a whaling station in the fjord, whaling is conducted in the open ocean outside the fjord; likewise, it is modern and postdates the naming of the fjord. One theory as to the naming of the fjord is that early settlers encountered a pod of whales trapped in the fjord who ended up beached; the stranding of whales was in early Iceland a godsend in the meat that it provided, to the point that the word ''hvalreki'' means both "whale beaching" and "windfall or godsend". However, there is no direct evidence to support this theory. Another theory is that the fjord is named after Hvalfjall ("Whale Mountain", a mountain at the bottom of the fjord), which would have been in turn named after its visual appearance. A common folk story of unknown age also is sometimes presented as the origin of the name, involving an elf woman who transformed her human lover into an angry red-headed whale (" Rauðhöfði"), who subsequently lived in the fjord wrecking ships, as revenge for his refusal to acknowledge their child. The only whaling station in Iceland is still located in this fjord. In the past the fjord also contained many herring fisheries. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, a

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that u ...

of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

navies could be found in this fjord. The British base, HMS Baldur, was at Hvitanes, on a small point of land jutting into the fjord. The base was the headquarters of the

Flag Officer Commanding, Iceland (C) The Flag Officer Commanding, Iceland (C) was an appointment of the British Royal Navy during the Second World War. His headquarters were at the stone frigate HMS Baldur, based at Hvitanes, in Hvalfjörður fjord, on the west coast of Iceland. It ...

. One of the piers built by the United States Navy is today used by the Hvalur whaling company for the processing of fin whales, partially for the domestic market, and mostly for export to Japan. Until the late 1990s, those travelling by car had to make a long detour of 62 km around the fjord on the

hringvegur Route 1 or the Ring Road ( or ) is a national road in Iceland that circles the entire country. As a major trunk route, it is considered to be the most important piece of transport infrastructure in Iceland as it connects the majority of towns ...

(road no. 1), in order to get from the city of

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 ...

to the town of Borgarnes. In 1998, the tunnel Hvalfjarðargöngin, which shortens the trip considerably, was opened to public traffic. The tunnel is approximately 5,762 m in length, and cuts travel by car around the fjord by about an hour. The tunnel runs to a depth of 165 m below sea level. The south side of the fjord runs through the municipality of Kjós. Two different rivers named Fossá (Waterfall River) cross the road, each having a number of cascades, although the western one is easy to miss from the road, as its main fall tumbles from beneath the road into a lower forest. The sizeable Laxá (Salmon River) crosses the road near the heart of Kjós; south of it lies the lake Meðalfellsvatn, home to many summer houses. The large sandbar Hvalfjarðareyri is a popular place to see birds. The innermost part of the fjord shows a mixture of

volcanic 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 a ...

mountains and green vegetation in summertime. At ''Botnsá'',

Nootka lupine ''Lupinus nootkatensis'', the Nootka lupine, is a perennial plant of the genus ''Lupinus'' in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to North America. The Nootka lupine grows up to 60 cm tall. Late in the 18th century it was first int ...

is common, along with other flowers and moss, as well as small forests of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

and

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s. The area displays a good example of the planting of forests, a project that has been going on in Iceland for some years. A hiking trail to the formerly-highest waterfall in Iceland,

Glymur Glymur () is the second-highest waterfall in Iceland, with a cascade of 198 m. It was long regarded as the tallest until being surpassed by Morsárfoss, a newly measured waterfall near Morsárjökull in 2011. It is situated at the rear end of th ...

, has its origin at the innermost end of the fjord. The somewhat steep trail up the rim of the deep river gorge is called Leggjabrjótur, meaning "Broken Leg". Before the ascent it passes through a short cave and across a thin improvised bridge. While it is possible to reach the bottom of the falls, it is not recommended; one has to wade through the cold river into the canyon, which is dim and at constant risk of falling rocks. In the northwestern part of the fjord lies a tiny steep-sided island called Geirshólmi, which was for a time during the

Age of the Sturlungs The Age of the Sturlungs or the Sturlung Era ( is, Sturlungaöld ) was a 42–44 year period of violent internal strife in mid-13th century Iceland. It is documented in the Sturlunga saga. This period is marked by the conflicts of local chieftai ...

home to a band of outlaws led by Svarthöfði Dufgusson who regularly raided the farms on the mainland. In the northwestern side of the fjord is Grundartangi, where a large aluminum smelter and silicon plant are located. Hvalfjörður is also referenced in the novella ''The Odd Saga of the American and a Curious Icelandic Flock''; as they pull to a stop at the toll before Hvalfjörður Tunnel, Alex begins to draw an important secret from an intoxicated Snorri. File:Hvalfjördur.jpg, Hvalfjörður File:Hvalfjörður-Botnsdalur-Iceland-20030527.jpg, View into the Botnsdalur from the Hvalfjörður File:Hvalfjordur-Iceland01.jpg, View from the Botnsdalur out the Hvalfjörður File:Southeast across Hvalfjörður, November 21 09-00.jpg, Looking southeast across Hvalfjörður at dawn, November 2007 File:2008-05-15 01 Hvalfjörður.jpg, Panoramic view of Hvalfjörður

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hvalfjordur Fjords of Iceland Western Region (Iceland) Whaling stations Whaling in Iceland

See also

References

External links