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 


 Reykhólar
 Bolungarvík
 Ísafjörður
 Tálknafjörður
 Flateyri
 Suðureyri
 Súðavík Bíldudalur
 Þingeyri
 Patreksfjörður
 Skálanes
 Reykjanes
 Hólmavík
 Drangsnes

 Gallery 

Related pages
 Regions of Iceland

 References 

 Other websites 
 Westfjords Tourist Board
 Westfjords website
 Images from the Westfjords (English and German)
 Awarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010

Category:Peninsulas of Europe
Category:Regions of Iceland