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

. 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 isthmus ...

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

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 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 (population around 4000).

Main settlements in the Westfjords

* Reykhólar *

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 * Ísafjörður * Tálknafjörður *

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 *

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 *

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 * 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