Westfjords

The Westfjords or West Fjords (Icelandic: Vestfirðir) is the name of a large peninsula and region in northern Iceland. It is next to the Denmark Strait and faces the east coast of Greenland. The Westfjords have a lot of mountains and fjords around the coast. Because of this, the road system is complex and communicating by land is difficult. The largest settlement is Ísafjörður, with a population of 4,000 people. Because of the East Greenland Current, the Westfjords are generally the coldest area in Iceland. In 1615, 32 shipwrecked Basque whalers were killed by locals. This caused the government to pass a law allowing the murder of any Basque person seen in the Westfjords. This law was ended in May 2015. Settlements Gallery Related pages Regions of Iceland References Other websites Westfjords Tourist Board Westfjords website Images from the Westfjords Archived 2018-08-09 at the Wayback Machine (English and German) Awarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010