The Westfjords or West Fjords ( is, Vestfirðir , ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is a large

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 all ...

in northwestern

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 ...

and an administrative district, the least populous administrative district. It lies on the

Denmark Strait The Denmark Strait () or Greenland Strait ( , 'Greenland Sound') is an oceanic strait between Greenland to its northwest and Iceland to its southeast. The Norwegian island of Jan Mayen lies northeast of the strait. Geography The strait connect ...

, facing the east coast of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

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

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) 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 counterpart of an isthmu ...

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

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, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

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

Vestfjarðagöng Vestfjarðagöng (, regionally also , "Westfjords Tunnel") 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 ...

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

Látrabjarg Látrabjarg () is a promontory and the westernmost point in Iceland. The cliffs are home to millions of birds, including puffins, northern gannets, guillemots and razorbills. It is vital for their survival as it hosts up to 40% of the world popul ...

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 ...

in the northern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and are at the westernmost point in Iceland. The Drangajökull glacier is located in the north of the peninsula and is the fifth-largest of the country, but the only glacier of the region.

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 of the fjords and their proximity to fishing areas are vital for the local economy. The Westfjords are very sparsely populated, even by Icelandic standards: the total population in 2020 was 7,115. The district capital and by far 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 ...

(population around 4000).

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 Bildudalur in Iceland. The term is also used for the immediate village and municipality. In January 2011, the municipality had 306 inhabitants, of whom 2 ...

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 t ...

Súðavík Súðavík () is a fishing village and municipality (Súðavíkurhreppur ) on the west coast of Álftafjörður in Westfjords, Iceland. History On January 16, 1995, an avalanche fell on the village early in the morning (around 6:25 am) and destr ...

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 thank ...

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 written Vestfirðir). On 1 January 2019, i ...

* Patreksfjörður * Skálanes *

Hólmavík Hólmavík () is a village in the western part of Iceland, by Steingrímsfjörður. It is the largest settlement in Strandir and serves as a centre of commerce for the county. Hólmavík is part of the Strandabyggð municipality and has 375 inh ...

* Drangsnes

Climate

The box is for Goltur , at the tip of the peninsula 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Ísafjörður. Westfjords is generally the coldest area at sea level in Iceland, because 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 t ...

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.

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 blogAurora ArktikaWestfjords Tour
{{Authority control Peninsulas of Iceland