|
|
Skjálfandi, geologically more a bay than a fjord, is located in the North of Iceland. The word Skjálfandi translates to earth quake bay, which occur quite frequently. Though most of the Earthquakes cannot really be noticed; they are only registered by seismographs.
The bay, originally created by glacial activity, has two major streams flowing into it: Skjálfandi Flói, which is a glacier river and Laxá, one of the few freshwater rivers in Iceland. The river Laxá is famous for its salmon (lax in icelandic translates to salmon) and part of the river is protected by the Ramsar Convention.
The main town in Skjálfandi Bay is Húsavík, facing the picturesque Kinnarfjöll, the mountain range on the other side of the bay, whose top is covered with snow year round. The highest point reaches around 1100 m. Like most mountains in Iceland, they are of volcanic origin.
The bay is famous for the abundance of different whale species, which can best be observed during the whale watching trips departing Húsavík.
The Swedish Viking Gardar Svavarsson, was the first European to settle in Iceland around 860. He built a house in Skjálfandi Bay, but had spent only the following winter months before he decided to leave Iceland again. But the officially acknowledged discovery of Iceland was not until 930.
See also: Fjords of Iceland
External links
- Whalewatching and information about whales (http://www.icewhale.is/)
- Photo of the port of Húsavík with the bay ()