Ólafsfjörður
Encyclopedia
Ólafsfjörður is a town
in the northeast of Iceland
located at the mouth of the fjord
Eyjafjörður
.
The town is connected to Eyjafjordur via a 3.5 km one-lane tunnel. Fishing is the main industry in the town and several fishing trawlers make their home in the town's harbor
.
The municipality of Ólafsfjörður and Siglufjörður
has merged to form a municipality called Fjallabyggð
, which literally means Mountain Settlement.
industry that was in much bloom in the 1940s and 1950s, but the herring are gone now.
Ólafsfjörður was connected with a road for the first time in 1940, when the horse riding trail through Siglufjarðarskarð was improved enabling cars to get through. Before, ships, seaplanes, and horses provided the transport.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the northeast of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
located at the mouth of the fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
Eyjafjörður
Eyjafjörður
Eyjafjörður is the longest fjord in central northern Iceland. It is located in the second most populous region of Iceland.-Physical geography:...
.
The town is connected to Eyjafjordur via a 3.5 km one-lane tunnel. Fishing is the main industry in the town and several fishing trawlers make their home in the town's harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
.
The municipality of Ólafsfjörður and Siglufjörður
Siglufjörður
Siglufjörður is a small fishing town in a narrow fjord with the same name on the northern coast of Iceland.Population in January 2011 was 1,206 but the town has been shrinking in size since the 1950s when the town reached its peak with 3,000 inhabitants....
has merged to form a municipality called Fjallabyggð
Fjallabyggð
Fjallabyggð is a municipality located in northern Iceland.As of 1 January 2011, it had a total population of 2,030. The total area is 364 km², making it one of the rather smaller municipalities in area in the country....
, which literally means Mountain Settlement.
History
The town grew up around the herringHerring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
industry that was in much bloom in the 1940s and 1950s, but the herring are gone now.
Ólafsfjörður was connected with a road for the first time in 1940, when the horse riding trail through Siglufjarðarskarð was improved enabling cars to get through. Before, ships, seaplanes, and horses provided the transport.