The Westfjords or West Fjords (, ) is a large

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 northwestern

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 ...

and an administrative

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

, the least populous in the country. It lies on the

Denmark Strait The Denmark Strait is the strait that separates Greenland from Iceland. Geography The strait connects the Greenland Sea, an extension of the Arctic Ocean, to the Irminger Sea, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is long. The narrowest part o ...

, facing the east coast of

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. It is connected to the rest of Iceland by a seven-kilometre-wide

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

between Gilsfjörður and Bitrufjörður . The Westfjords are mountainous; the coastline is heavily indented by dozens of

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

s surrounded by steep hills. These indentations make roads very circuitous and communications by land difficult. In addition, many roads are closed by ice and snow for several months of the year. The

Vestfjarðagöng Vestfjarðagöng (, regionally also , ) is the longest tunnel in Iceland, located in Westfjords in northwestern Iceland. It has a length of and was opened in September 1996. The tunnel has three entrances and the three arms meet at junction i ...

road tunnel from 1996 has improved that situation. The cliffs at

Látrabjarg Látrabjarg () is a promontory in the Westfjords of Iceland, and the westernmost point in Iceland. The cliffs are home to millions of birds, including puffins, northern gannets, guillemots and razorbill The razorbill (''Alca torda'') is a No ...

comprise the longest

bird cliff Bird cliffs, or nesting cliffs, are steep cliffs with numerous small shelves which serve as nesting locations for bird colonies. Bird cliffs are found on islands in the North Atlantic and Arctic, such as the Faroe Islands, Iceland, the Svalbard a ...

in the northern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and are at the westernmost point in Iceland.

Drangajökull Drangajökull (, regionally also ) is the northernmost glacier of Iceland, occupying the southern foothills of the Hornstrandir peninsula in the Westfjords region. It covers approximately 150 km2 and is the only Icelandic ice cap situated entir ...

, the only glacier in the region, is located in the north of the peninsula and is the fifth-largest in the country. Westfjords is certified by the EarthCheck Sustainable Destinations program.

Population

The lack of flat lowlands in the area limits the potential for agriculture, which is mostly restricted to low-intensity sheep grazing near the fjords. Good natural harbors in many fjords and their proximity to fishing areas are vital for the local economy. The Westfjords are sparsely populated, even by Icelandic standards; the total population in 2024 was 7,168. The largest settlement is

Ísafjörður Ísafjörður (pronounced , meaning ''ice fjord'', literally ''fjord of ices'') is a town in the northwest of Iceland. The oldest part of Ísafjörður with the town centre is located on a spit of sand, or ''eyri'', in Skutulsfjörður, a fjord ...

, with a population of 2,679.

Main settlements in the Westfjords

Reykhólar Reykhólar () is an Icelandic village in the Westfjords, in the northwest area of the country. The village, with around 120 inhabitants, has a swimming pool near the local camp site with a great view on the sea and mountains. The camp site, hostel ...

Bolungarvík Bolungarvík (, regionally also ) is a small town and the only built-up area in the municipality of Bolungarvíkurkaupstaður in the northwest of Iceland, located on the Westfjords peninsula, approximately from the town of Ísafjörður and from ...

* Brjánslækur *

Tálknafjörður Tálknafjörður () is a fjord located in southern Westfjords between Patreksfjörður and Bíldudalur in Iceland. The term is also used for the immediate village and the former municipality of Tálknafjarðarhreppur. In January 2024, the municip ...

Flateyri Flateyri ( Icelandic: ) is a village situated in Iceland's Westfjords. It is part of the municipality of Ísafjarðarbær and has a population of approximately 200, making it the largest settlement in Önundarfjörður. History Flateyri has been ...

Suðureyri Suðureyri () is a small Icelandic fishing village perched on the tip of the 13 km-long Súgandafjörður in the Westfjords. The community was isolated for years by the huge mountains and rough road that led over them. Now it is connected to ...

Hnífsdalur Hnífsdalur () is a small village in the municipality of Ísafjarðarbær, located between Bolungarvík and Ísafjörður. The literal meaning of the name is "Knife's Valley". Some guess that the thin or sharp line of the mountain range resembles ...

Súðavík Súðavík () is a fishing village and municipality (Súðavíkurhreppur ) on the west coast of Álftafjörður in Westfjords, Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic ...

Bíldudalur Bíldudalur () is a village situated on the coast of Arnarfjörður, one of the Westfjords in Iceland. It is situated in the Vesturbyggð municipality and has 238 inhabitants (as of January 2021). The village prospered in the 19th century than ...

Þingeyri Þingeyri (, regionally also ) is a settlement in the municipality of Ísafjarðarbær, Iceland. It is located on the coast of Dýrafjörður fjord in the mountainous peninsula Westfjords (in Icelandic language, Icelandic written Vestfirðir). On ...

Patreksfjörður Patreksfjörður (, ) is a fishing village in the Westfjords of Iceland. It was an important fishing and trading post until the Icelandic government's introduction of a fishing quota in 1990. Administratively, it is part of the municipality of Ve ...

Skálanes Skálanes () Nature and Heritage Centre is placed within a 1250 hectare nature reserve situated on a peninsula 17 km east of Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland. The reserve has a rich natural and historical life consisting of native plants, a wi ...

* Hólmavík * Drangsnes

Climate

The box is for Göltur , at the tip of the peninsula 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Ísafjörður. Westfjords is generally the coldest area at sea level in Iceland, as a result of the

East Greenland Current The East Greenland Current (EGC) is a cold, low-salinity current that extends from Fram Strait (~80N) to Cape Farewell (~60N). The current is located off the eastern coast of Greenland along the Greenland continental margin. The current cuts thr ...

Law

In 1615, 32 shipwrecked

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

whalers were killed by locals, after which the magistrate made it law that any Basque person seen in the region should be instantly killed. This law was repealed in May 2015.

Wildlife

The Westfjords are famous for their large Arctic Fox population. The density of

Arctic Fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Tundra#Arctic tundra, Arctic tundra biome. I ...

in some parts of Hornstrandir nature reserve (such as Hornvik) is the highest in the world. In addition, Látrabjarg cliffs in the south-west of the peninsula are the most important seabird nesting site in Iceland, and one of the most important in Europe. The most common birds in the Westfjords are the

Arctic tern The Arctic tern (''Sterna paradisaea'') is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south ...

northern fulmar The northern fulmar (''Fulmarus glacialis''), fulmar, or Arctic fulmar is an abundant seabird found primarily in subarctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. There has been one confirmed sighting in the Southern Hemisphere, ...

, black-legged kittiwake,

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

common guillemot The common murre or common guillemot (''Uria aalge'') is a large auk. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to ...

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

red-necked phalarope The red-necked phalarope (''Phalaropus lobatus''), also known as the northern phalarope and hyperborean phalarope, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a ...

and ducks such as the

common eider The common eider (pronounced ) (''Somateria mollissima''), also called St. Cuthbert's duck or Cuddy's duck, is a large ( in body length) sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breed ...

and

harlequin duck The harlequin duck (''Histrionicus histrionicus'') is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (Italian ''Arlecchino'', French ''Arlequin''), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin ...

Image gallery

Iceland-WestFjords1.JPG, Westfjords Dýrafjörður, Vestfirðir, Islandia, 2014-08-15, DD 012.JPG, Dýrafjörður Atlantic Puffin Latrabjarg Iceland 05c.jpg, Puffins in Látrabjarg Iceland2008-WestFjords.old.ship.JPG, Oldest steel ship in Iceland Iceland2008-Latrabjarg.cliff.JPG, Látrabjarg Hrafnseyrarheiði, Vestfirðir, Islandia, 2014-08-15, DD 023.JPG, Hrafnseyrarheiði Hvitanes, Vestfirðir, Islandia, 2014-08-15, DD 073.JPG, Hvítanes Iceland2008-Sudureyri.JPG, Suðureyri Paisaje cerca de Þingeyri, Vestfirðir, Islandia, 2014-08-15, DD 016.JPG, Landscape near Þingeyri

References

External links

Westfjords Tourist BoardWestfjords website
(English and German)
Awarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010The Bestfjords blogAll about the Icelandic Arctic Fox
*
Westfjords Tour
{{Authority control Peninsulas of Iceland