Westfjords




Peninsula and region of Iceland

Place in Iceland


























Vestfirðir

The Vestfirðir area
The Vestfirðir area

Country Iceland
Seat Ísafjörður
Area

 • Total 22,271 km2 (8,599 sq mi)
Population
(2007)

 • Total 7,300
 • Density 0.3/km2 (0.8/sq mi)



A map of the Westfjords


The Westfjords or West Fjords (Icelandic: Vestfirðir, ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coast of Greenland. It is connected to the rest of Iceland by a 7-km-wide isthmus between Gilsfjörður and Bitrufjörður. The Westfjords are very mountainous; the coastline is heavily indented by dozens of fjords 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 road tunnel from 1996 has improved that situation. The cliffs at Látrabjarg comprise the longest bird cliff in the northern Atlantic Ocean 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.




Contents






  • 1 Population


    • 1.1 Main settlements in the Westfjords




  • 2 Climate


  • 3 Law


  • 4 Image gallery


  • 5 See also


  • 6 References


  • 7 External links





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: the total population in 2007 was 7,380. The district capital and by far the largest settlement is Ísafjörður (population around 4000).





























































Population decline
year
 population
 % of Iceland's population

1920
 13,443
 14.24%

1930
 13,133
 12.09%

1940
 13,130
 10.80%

1950
 11,300
 7.83%

1960
 10,507
 5.86%

1970
 10,050
 4.91%

1980
 10,479
 4.53%

1990
 9,798
 3.80%

2000
 8,150
 2.86%

2007
 7,309
 2.32%


Main settlements in the Westfjords



  • Reykhólar

  • Bolungarvík

  • Brjánslækur

  • Ísafjörður

  • Tálknafjörður

  • Flateyri

  • Suðureyri

  • Hnífsdalur

  • Súðavík

  • Bíldudalur

  • Þingeyri

  • 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.







































































































































Climate data for Goltur
Month
 Jan
 Feb
 Mar
 Apr
 May
 Jun
 Jul
 Aug
 Sep
 Oct
 Nov
 Dec
 Year
Record high °C (°F)
 10
(50)
 10
(50)
 11
(52)
 11
(52)
 17
(63)
 18
(64)
 19
(66)
 18
(64)
 15
(59)
 15
(59)
 13
(55)
 11
(52)
 19
(66)
Average high °C (°F)
 1
(33)
 2
(35)
 3
(37)
 4
(40)
 7
(44)
 9
(49)
 11
(51)
 11
(51)
 7
(45)
 5
(41)
 4
(40)
 2
(35)
 6
(42)
Daily mean °C (°F)
 −2
(29)
 0
(32)
 1
(33)
 2
(36)
 4
(40)
 7
(45)
 8
(47)
 8
(47)
 6
(42)
 3
(38)
 3
(37)
 0
(32)
 3
(38)
Average low °C (°F)
 −3
(26)
 −2
(29)
 −1
(30)
 1
(33)
 2
(36)
 5
(41)
 7
(44)
 7
(44)
 4
(40)
 2
(35)
 1
(34)
 −1
(30)
 2
(35)
Record low °C (°F)
 −11
(12)
 −10
(14)
 −13
(9)
 −7
(19)
 −4
(25)
 −2
(28)
 2
(36)
 1
(34)
 −3
(27)
 −5
(23)
 −9
(16)
 −9
(16)
 −13
(9)
Average relative humidity (%)
 75
 77
 76
 79
 77
 82
 83
 81
 82
 79
 80
 78
 79
Mean daily sunshine hours
 6
 9.2
 12.7
 16.6
 20.7
 23.4
 21.5
 18.1
 13.9
 10.3
 6.9
 4.6
 13.7
Source: Weatherbase[1]




Law


In 1615, 32 shipwrecked Basque 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.[2]



Image gallery






  • Westfjords







  • Dýrafjörður







  • Puffins in Látrabjarg







  • Oldest steel ship in Iceland







  • Látrabjarg







  • Hrafnseyrarheiði







  • Hvitanes







  • Suðureyri







  • Landscape near Þingeyri






See also




  • Barðaströnd

  • Westfjords Heritage Museum

  • Regions of Iceland

  • Tunnels in Iceland

  • Basque–Icelandic pidgin



References





  1. ^
    "Weatherbase: WEATHER AVERAGES SUMMARY for Goltur, Iceland". Weatherbase. 2013..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
    Retrieved on June 1, 2013.


  2. ^ Tharoor, Ishaan (28 May 2015). "Iceland revokes 400-year-old legal right in Westfjords district to kill Basques on sight". The Independent. Retrieved 2 June 2015.




External links







  • Westfjords Tourist Board

  • Westfjords website


  • Images from the Westfjords (English and German)

  • Awarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010

  • The Bestfjords blog

  • Aurora Arktika








Coordinates: 65°44′15″N 22°10′14″W / 65.73750°N 22.17056°W / 65.73750; -22.17056







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