# Keflavík

Keflavík (pronounced , meaning Driftwood Bay) is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129.
In 1995, Keflavík merged with nearby Njarðvík and Hafnir to form the municipality of Reykjanesbær. Keflavík International Airport, the country's largest airport (serving nearby Reykjavík) is adjacent to the town.

## History

Keflavík was founded by Scottish entrepreneurs and engineers in the 16th century, and developed on account of its fishing and fish processing industry.
In the 1940s an airport was built next to the town by the United States military, which served as an important refueling stop for trans-Atlantic flights, especially during World War II.
During the Cold War, Naval Air Station Keflavik played an important role in monitoring marine and submarine traffic from the Norwegian and Greenland seas into the Atlantic Ocean. Forces from the United States Air Force were added to provide radar monitoring, fighter intercept, in-flight refueling, and aerial/marine rescue. With increasing ranges for aircraft and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the base became less important, and the last U.S. personnel were withdrawn in 2006.
Within Iceland, Keflavík was renowned as a rich source of musicians during the 1960s and 1970s, and came to be known as bítlabærinn or "The Beatle Town".

## Geography and climate

The local geography is dominated by fields of basalt rubble, interspersed with a few hardy plants and mosses.
The climate of Keflavík is subpolar oceanic (Köppen: Cfc) with cool summers and moderately cold winters. There is not a truly dry month but June is the month that gets the least amount of precipitation. Winter high temperatures average above the freezing mark, and summer high temperatures are cool to mild. The warmest month on average is July with an average high of 14.2 °C (58 °F) and the coldest is January with an average high of 3.4 °C (38 °F).
Climate data for Keflavík Airport, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1952–present :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 10.3 (50.5) | 11.5 (52.7) | 12.3 (54.1) | 15.0 (59.0) | 19.5 (67.1) | 19.9 (67.8) | 23.0 (73.4) | 25.0 (77.0) | 17.8 (64.0) | 14.5 (58.1) | 13.5 (56.3) | 12.4 (54.3) | 25.0 (77.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.4 (38.1) | 3.4 (38.1) | 4.2 (39.6) | 6.7 (44.1) | 9.5 (49.1) | 12.6 (54.7) | 14.2 (57.6) | 13.6 (56.5) | 11.1 (52.0) | 7.6 (45.7) | 5.0 (41.0) | 3.7 (38.7) | 7.9 (46.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.0 (33.8) | 0.8 (33.4) | 1.3 (34.3) | 3.6 (38.5) | 6.5 (43.7) | 9.5 (49.1) | 11.2 (52.2) | 10.8 (51.4) | 8.4 (47.1) | 5.0 (41.0) | 2.5 (36.5) | 1.1 (34.0) | 5.1 (41.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.4 (29.5) | −1.6 (29.1) | −1.0 (30.2) | 1.2 (34.2) | 4.1 (39.4) | 7.2 (45.0) | 9.0 (48.2) | 8.8 (47.8) | 6.5 (43.7) | 3.1 (37.6) | 0.4 (32.7) | −1.1 (30.0) | 2.9 (37.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −17.5 (0.5) | −17.0 (1.4) | −15.4 (4.3) | −15.2 (4.6) | −6.3 (20.7) | −0.3 (31.5) | 2.8 (37.0) | 0.4 (32.7) | −3.3 (26.1) | −9.2 (15.4) | −12.2 (10.0) | −13.8 (7.2) | −17.5 (0.5) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 106.1 (4.18) | 105.3 (4.15) | 96.2 (3.79) | 73.6 (2.90) | 67.4 (2.65) | 53.0 (2.09) | 65.5 (2.58) | 87.7 (3.45) | 120.7 (4.75) | 111.2 (4.38) | 104.6 (4.12) | 113.0 (4.45) | 1,104.3 (43.48) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 16.9 | 16.0 | 15.7 | 12.3 | 12.0 | 10.0 | 10.9 | 12.8 | 15.8 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 16.7 | 169.0 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0 cm) | 9.0 | 8.8 | 6.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 8.2 | 37.0 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | −2.1 (28.2) | −2.5 (27.5) | −2.2 (28.0) | −0.3 (31.5) | 2.4 (36.3) | 5.7 (42.3) | 8.0 (46.4) | 7.9 (46.2) | 5.5 (41.9) | 1.9 (35.4) | −0.6 (30.9) | −2.0 (28.4) | 1.8 (35.2) |
| Source 1: NOAA ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: Iceland Met Office (extremes) ||||||||||||||

## Sport

The town is represented in sports by Íþrótta- og ungmennafélag Keflavíkur.

## In popular culture

The former NATO military base Naval Air Station Keflavik is used as a setting for an important story line in Tom Clancy's novel Red Storm Rising. Clancy speculated about the base, the geography, local flora, and the station equipment.
NAS Keflavik is also a central setting in Icelandic writer Arnaldur Indriðason's 1999 mystery Napóleonsskjölin, translated into English in 2011 as Operation Napoleon.

## Notable people

* Birgir Þórarinsson (born 1965), politician and Member of the Althing
* Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir (born 1952), linguist
* Helgi Skúlason (1933-1996), actor and stage director
* Jón Kalman Stefánsson (born 1963), author
* Julius Fridriksson (living), Icelandic-American academic and scientist
* Rán Ísold Eysteinsdóttir (born 1995), actress and model
* Svanfríður Jónasdóttir (born 1951), politician and teacher
* Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir (born 2001), footballer for VfL Wolfsburg and the Iceland national team