English

Norðurþing is known for natural beauty and some of the most spectacular pearls of Icelandic nature can be found within its boundaries. Such as the waterfall Dettifoss, Europe’s most powerful waterfall, the spectacular rock formations in Ásbyrgi and the Melrakkaslétta arctic tundra with ample bird life and remarkable landscape. Norðurþing offers many opportunities for visitors as well as the inhabitants in recreation and travel, whale watching is big in Húsavík and some of the best places for bird watching in Iceland are in Norðurþing and the surrounding areas.

 

 

The town Húsavík is located at the southeast shore of the Skjálfandi bay in the Northeast part of Iceland with the population of about 2.200.  Húsavík is the center of service and local government in the Norðurþing municipality.  Húsavík is the lagest town in Þingeyjarsýsla, a prosperous community by the Eastern side of Skjálfandi bay. 

In the recent years tourism has increased considerably with a large number of visitors every year.  There are many good reasons why Húsavík is such a popular place to visit: an attractive and scenic natural environment, diverse recreation options, whale watching and prozimity to the most highly regarded nature pearls of the region.  Húsavík was the first town in Iceland to offer oranized whale watching tours and has remained the whale watching capital of Iceland and even Europe.

Húsavík is a clean and tidy town whose heart beats around the harbour with its remarkable Whale Museum.  The church, built in 1907, stands beside the main street and is regarded as an emblem of the town.  Up the steet is the District Cultural Center with its collection of museums; a regional museum, district archives, museum of natural history, maritime museum and photograph and film archives. 

Húsavík provides the visitors with all the basic services and much more: hotel, guesthouses, shops, restaurants, a camping site, a botanical garden, museums, a swimming pool, a golf couse and numerous pleasant walking routes.  One of the most popular routes is a walk around the lake Botnsvatn, just above the town, with the option of free angling.

The houses in Húsavík are heated with geothermal water.  The water is used for multiple purposes, such as for heating greenhouses, buildings, swimming pools, aquaculture and sometimes even for melting snow of sidewalks, driveways and steets during winter. 

The Swedish explorer Garðar Svavarsson was the first man to discover that Iceland is an island. He wintered in Húsavík four years before the settlement of Ingólfur Arnarson. Left behind upon Garðar’s departure was Náttfari whom many consider the first permanent settler of Iceland. This region fully satisfied the demands made by the settlers with regard to the quality of land and potential for sustenance. The lay of the land made it better suited for average size family farms than for large manors, which were fewer here than elsewhere in North Iceland. A large number of settlers are identified in Landnáma, the book of settlements, and many burial mounds of the first settlers have been found in Southern Þingeyjarsýsla.

Around the year 963, descendants of settlers decided to convene their district assembly at Þingey Island in Skjálfandafljót. This assembly is referred to several times in written sources during the period of approx. 950–1250. Such sources are often sagas relating to local heroes, such as Þorgeir Þorkelsson of Ljósavatn who became renowned for his decisive role in the conversion to Christianity in 1000. He is also said to have thrown his images of the old heathen gods into a waterfall in Skjálfandafljót which henceforth was named Goðafoss (Water fall of the Gods).

The town Raufarhöfn is by the plateau Mel rakkaslétta, the northernmost part of Iceland, almost on the Arctic Circle. In Raufarhöfn is the largest outdoor artwork in Iceland - an Arctic Henge where light and shadows play a big part with allusions to mythology and folklore.

Raufarhöfn has always depended on fisheries as its main industry; during the years of successful herring fisheries around the mid 20th century, Raufarhöfn was in the news every day during the busy herring season which brought in large numbers of temporary workers. Those days have passed and Raufarhöfn has become a quiet little fishing village, ideal for a peaceful stay to enjoy walks, fishing and the midnight sun.

Outdoor activities are vast, there is a great variety of bird life in the area both on Melrakkaslétta plain and at Raufarhöfn. Melrakka slétta alone is an adventure for nature lovers. The Peninsula on which it is located is characterized by inlets, lagoons and driftwood piled or strewn along its beaches.

To the northeast of Kelduhverfi is Öxarfjörður, one of Icelands largest sheep farming regions. The only densely populated area in Öxarfjörður is Kópasker, which draws its name from the vast amount of seals on the coastline. Powerful earthquakes in 1976 made a massive impact on Kópasker and destroyed many houses. In Kópasker you can find the earthquake museum, Skjálftasetrið and a quality butchery called Fjallalamb hf.

South of Húsavík is Reykjahverfi, where there is extensive greenhouse cultivation by means of geothermal heating as well as a swimming pool and a community centre. Its main geothermal source is at Hveravellir from where geothermal water is piped to Húsavík, providing central heating for all the buildings in the town. You can also find Ystihver in Reykjahverfi, the biggest geysir in North Iceland.

 

 

For thousands of years, Jökulsá á Fjöllum, one of Iceland’s largest rivers, has continued to flow from under the glacier Vatnajökull and wound its way through a landscape of diverse aspects for a distance of about 200 km until merging with the sea in Öxarfjörður bay. On its long journey, the river has carved numerous channels into the highland bedrock and to the west of Hólsfjöll it cascades from a tall rocky ledge, forming the huge waterfall Dettifoss, plunging into, magnificent canyons which extend all the way down to the bridge over the river on highway 85. The canyons (Icelandic: gljúfur), which take their name from the river, Jökulsárgljúfur, are approximately 25 km long, half a kilometre wide and in several locations they extend to a depth of over 100 metres.

On the east side of Tjörnes peninsula, there is a vantage point which provides a panoramic view of the Öxarfjörður region and out to Melrakkaslétta. Closest is Kelduhverfi district which extends east to the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum, Iceland’s second longest river. The lowlands are generally marshy and provide good feeding and breeding grounds for wetland birds. Out by the sea are extensive sand flats, deposits from Jökulsá River.