Eyjafjörður
Encyclopedia
Hrísey
Hrísey is a small island off the north coast of Iceland, situated approximately 35 kilometres north of Akureyri, in Eyjafjörður, at .Since 2004, the island has been a part of the municipality of Akureyri, having previously been a municipality in its own right.Hrísey itself has a total land area of...
Fjord) is the longest fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
in central northern Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. It is located in the second most populous region of Iceland.
Physical geography
The fjord is long and narrow, it measures 60 km from mouth to bottom. Its greatest width is 25 km between Siglunes and Gjögurtá at the fjord's mouth but for the greater part of its length it is usually 6–10 km wide. Two smaller fjords branch out of Eyjafjörður's west side, ÓlafsfjörðurÓlafsfjörður
Ólafsfjörður is a town in the northeast of Iceland located at the mouth of the fjord Eyjafjörður.The town is connected to Eyjafjordur via a 3.5 km one-lane tunnel...
and Héðinsfjörður.
The fjord is surrounded by hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
s and mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s on both sides but the mountains are considerably taller on the west side, in the mountain range of the Tröllaskagi
Tröllaskagi
Tröllaskagi is a peninsula in northern Iceland between the fjords of Eyjafjörður and Skagafjörður. The peninsula is mountainous with several peaks reaching over 1000 meters above sea level, the tallest is Kerling...
peninsula. In the outer part of the fjord there are no lowlands along the coast as the steep hills roll directly into the sea. Further south in the fjord there are strips of lowland along both coasts; these are wider on the west side.
Several valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
s lead from Eyjafjörður, most of them to the west where the two most significant are: Hörgárdalur and Svarfaðardalur
Svarfaðardalur
Svarfaðardalur is a large valley in northeast Iceland. It is a part of -References:*Hjörtur Eldjárn Þórarinsson. „Svarfaðardalur og gönguleiðir um fjöllin“. Árbók Ferðafélags Íslands. : 9-119....
. Dalsmynni is the only valley on the east side. However the greatest valley in Eyjafjörður is also called Eyjafjörður and runs directly south from the fjord itself. It is long and wide and home to one of Iceland's largest agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
regions.
Many rivers flow into Eyjafjörður, the most significant being Eyjafjarðará, Fnjóská and Hörgá.
The island of Hrísey
Hrísey
Hrísey is a small island off the north coast of Iceland, situated approximately 35 kilometres north of Akureyri, in Eyjafjörður, at .Since 2004, the island has been a part of the municipality of Akureyri, having previously been a municipality in its own right.Hrísey itself has a total land area of...
in the middle of Eyjafjörður is the second largest island of the coast of Iceland and often referred to as "The Pearl of Eyjafjörður".
People
Greater Reykjavík Area
The Greater Reykjavík Area is a name used collectively for Reykjavík and seven municipalities around it.. The area is the largest urban area in Iceland. Each municipality has its independent elected council. With a population of 200,852, the Greater Reykjavík Area comprises over 60% of the...
in Southwest Iceland. The total population of the region was approximately 24,000 in 2008 (excluding the town of Siglufjörður
Siglufjörður
Siglufjörður is a small fishing town in a narrow fjord with the same name on the northern coast of Iceland.Population in January 2011 was 1,206 but the town has been shrinking in size since the 1950s when the town reached its peak with 3,000 inhabitants....
and the island of Grímsey
Grímsey
Grímsey is a small island in the country of Iceland, off the north coast of the main island of Iceland and straddling the Arctic Circle. In January 2011 it had 86 inhabitants....
that are often associated with Eyjafjörður but do not belong to it in geographical sense.)
The largest town by far is Akureyri
Akureyri
Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....
, other settlements in the region are: Dalvík
Dalvík
Dalvíkurbyggð is a municipality in the north of Iceland.The population of the municipality is about 2,000- History :The municipality of Dalvíkurbyggð was formed in 1998 by the merger of three districts of outer Eyjafjörður: the town of Dalvík and the rural districts of Svarfaðardalur and Árskógur...
, Ólafsfjörður
Ólafsfjörður
Ólafsfjörður is a town in the northeast of Iceland located at the mouth of the fjord Eyjafjörður.The town is connected to Eyjafjordur via a 3.5 km one-lane tunnel...
, Hrísey
Hrísey
Hrísey is a small island off the north coast of Iceland, situated approximately 35 kilometres north of Akureyri, in Eyjafjörður, at .Since 2004, the island has been a part of the municipality of Akureyri, having previously been a municipality in its own right.Hrísey itself has a total land area of...
, Árskógssandur, Hauganes
Hauganes
Hauganes is a small village in Iceland located 30 km north of Akureyri.Hauganes is located in Eyjafjörður, the longest fjord in central northern Iceland. Hauganes has about 137 inhabitants....
, Hjalteyri
Hjalteyri
Hjalteyri is a town in northern Iceland in the Norðurland eystra region.Hjalteyri has 43 inhabitants and was the largest settlement in the former municipality of Arnarneshreppur before it merged to become part of Hörgársveit. Hjalteyri is on the west bank of the Eyjafjörður fjord and is one of the...
, Hrafnagil, Svalbarðseyri
Svalbarðseyri
Svalbarðseyri is a small village in the Svalbarðsstrandarhreppur municipality, northern Iceland, which in January 2011 had 245 inhabitants.It is located on the east coast of Eyjafjörður fjord....
and Grenivík. Most of these settlements base their livelihood on fisheries and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
but Akureyri is a service center as well and the site of a growing university
University of Akureyri
The University of Akureyri is a young institution, founded on September 5, 1987 in the city of Akureyri in the north part of Iceland. It has grown since then, especially in the last few years as more facilities have been established...
.
See also
- Fjords of IcelandFjords of IcelandThe most important fjords of Iceland:* Faxaflói* Hvalfjörður* Borgarfjörður* Breiðafjörður* Hvammsfjörður* Ísafjarðardjúp* Húnaflói* Skagafjörður* Eyjafjörður* Skjálfandi * Öxarfjörður* Vopnafjörður* Héraðsflói* Seyðisfjörður...