Westfjords
Vestfirðir | |
|---|---|
 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) |
The Westfjords or West Fjords (Icelandic: Vestfirðir, ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is the name of the 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 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.
The lack of flat lowlands in the area makes it unsuitable for agriculture, but 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).
| 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
- Súðavík
- Bíldudalur
- Þingeyri
- Patreksfjörður
- Skálanes
- Reykjanes
- Hólmavík
- Drangsnes
See also
External links
- Fisherman Hotel Suðureyri (in Icelandic, English and German)
- Westfjords Tourist Board
- Westfjords website
- Images from the Westfjords (English and German)
- Awarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010
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