Langanes () is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

in northeast

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 ...

. The name literally means "long peninsula". It is long from southwest to northeast, ending in a thin strip of land called Fontur (regionally also ) where there is also a suggestive

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

called Langanesviti . It is bounded by

Þistilfjörður Þistilfjörður (; sometimes anglicised as Thistilfjördur) is a bay in northeast Iceland, between the Rifstangi and Langanes peninsulas, near the town of Þórshöfn (Thorshofn). The name also refers to the region immediately to the southwest o ...

to the northwest and

Bakkaflói Bakkaflói () is a bay in the northeastern region of Iceland. It is north of Bakkafjordur and southeast of Langanes Langanes () is a peninsula in northeast Iceland. The name literally means "long peninsula". It is long from southwest to northea ...

to the southeast, while the terrain inland reaches elevations of 200–450 metres (600–1200 feet). The highest point is Gunnólfsvíkurfjall in the southeast of the peninsula, at 719 m. Langanesbyggd map

The peninsula is composed of late Pliocene-early Pleistocene lavas. Kistufjall (444 m) is the distinctive

tuya A tuya is a flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet. They are rare worldwide, being confined to regions which were covered by glaciers and had active volcanism during the same period. As lava ...

(table mountain) volcano that resulted from subglacial eruptions. Administratively, Langanes forms part of the

Langanesbyggð Langanesbyggð () is a municipality in northeastern 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 ...

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' ...

(population 480 in 2008). Virtually all of the population live in the village of

Þórshöfn Þórshöfn () or Thorshofn is a small fishing village in northeast Iceland, located on the northern coast of the Langanes peninsula on the Þistilfjörður bay. The village has a population of 380 people. It is the administrative centre of Lan ...

(Thorshofn) on the northwestern coast, which has a small airport. Sauðanes , just to the north of Þórshöfn, has an ancient church which has been converted into a museum. The fishing village of Skálar , on the southeastern coast near the tip of the peninsula, had a population of over a hundred in the early 20th century, but was abandoned by 1946. Other abandoned settlements include Heiðarhöfn , Læknistaðir , Skoruvík , Fagranes and Saurbær . A

radar station Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), direction (azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track aircraft ...

(NATO ID: H-2) was operated in Heiðarhöfn, on mountain Heiðarfjall , from 1954 to 1968 to monitor Soviet activity in the

GIUK gap The GIUK gap (sometimes written G-I-UK) is an area in the northern Atlantic Ocean that forms a naval choke point. Its name is an acronym for ''Greenland, Iceland'', and the ''United Kingdom'', the gap being the two stretches of open ocean amo ...

. Nowadays the buildings are difficult to reach and remain in a deteriorating condition, most without windows, abandoned to the elements. The new radar station (NATO ID: H-2A) is located atop the next mountain, south, on mount Gunnólfsvíkurfjall and is an integral part of the

Iceland Air Defence System The Iceland Air Defence System () is a part of the Icelandic Coast Guard. It was founded in 1987 under the Radar Agency of the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs after an agreement between Iceland and the United States on the takeover by t ...

, helping NATO and the country itself to effectively monitor its airspace. In the spring time (May–June) seabirds (

guillemot Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the Alcidae or auk family, part of the order Charadriiformes. In Europe, the term covers two genera, '' Uria'' and '' Cepphus''. In North America the ''Uria'' species are called mu ...

and

kittiwake The kittiwakes (genus ''Rissa'') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') and the red-legged kittiwake (''Rissa brevirostris''). The epithets "black-legged" and "red- ...

) lay their eggs in the cliffs at Langanes and for those interested there may be an opportunity to watch egg-gatherers at work in the cliffs. The Langanes peninsula is popular with bird-watchers and holds the third largest

gannet Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. They are known as 'solan' or 'solan goose' in Scotland. A common misconception is that the Scottish name is 'guga' but this is the Gaelic n ...

nesting place in the world at Stórkarl .

References

Þistilfjörður, Langanes and Bakkafjörður
Peninsulas of Iceland Northeastern Region (Iceland) {{Iceland-geo-stub