Vík í Mýrdal
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Vík í Mýrdal
Vík | |
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Town | |
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Website | www |
The village of Vík (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈviːk] ⓘ; or Vík í Mýrdal [ˈviːk iː ˈmirˌtaːl̥] in full) is the southernmost village in Iceland, located on the main ring road around the island, around 180 km (110 mi) by road southeast of Reykjavík.
Despite its small size (750 inhabitants in Mýrdalshreppur as of January 2021[1]) it is the largest settlement for some 70 km (43 mi) around and is an important staging post, and thus it is indicated on road signs from a long distance away. It is an important service center for the inhabitants of and visitors to the coastal strip between Skógar and the west edge of the Mýrdalssandur glacial outwash plain.
Overview
In 1991, the US journal Islands Magazine counted the beach at Vík as one of the ten most beautiful beaches on Earth. Its stretch of black basalt sand[2] is one of the wettest places in Iceland. The cliffs west of the beach are home to many seabirds, most notably puffins which burrow into the shallow soils during the nesting season.[3] Offshore lie stacks of basalt rock, remnants of a once more extensive cliffline Reynisfjall [ˈreiːnɪsˌfjatl̥], now battered by the sea.[4] According to folklore, the sea stacks are former trolls who tried to drag their boats out to sea only to be caught by the rising dawn.[5] The sea around them is rather wild and stormy,[6] and travelers will note a monument to the memory of drowned seamen on the beach.
Contemporary legends tell the story of a husband who found his wife taken by the two trolls, frozen at night. The husband made the two trolls swear to never kill anyone ever again. His wife was the love of his life, whose free spirit he was unable to provide a home for; she found her fate out among the trolls, rocks, and sea at Reynisfjara [ˈreiːnɪsˌfjaːra].[7]
The village was affected by volcanic ash during the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull.[8][9][10]
Danger from the Katla volcano
Vík lies directly south of the
Climate
Vík í Mýrdal is the warmest place in Iceland, with an annual mean temperature of 5.3 °C (41.5 °F).
Climate data for Vík í Mýrdal (1961-1990); Extremes (1961-2011) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 10.6 (51.1) |
13.0 (55.4) |
12.5 (54.5) |
15.8 (60.4) |
19.7 (67.5) |
21.5 (70.7) |
23.1 (73.6) |
24.4 (75.9) |
17.2 (63.0) |
16.5 (61.7) |
13.4 (56.1) |
11.9 (53.4) |
24.4 (75.9) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.5 (38.3) |
4.0 (39.2) |
4.4 (39.9) |
6.5 (43.7) |
9.0 (48.2) |
11.3 (52.3) |
13.2 (55.8) |
12.8 (55.0) |
10.3 (50.5) |
7.4 (45.3) |
4.7 (40.5) |
3.6 (38.5) |
7.6 (45.6) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.2 (34.2) |
2.0 (35.6) |
1.9 (35.4) |
4.0 (39.2) |
6.7 (44.1) |
8.9 (48.0) |
10.8 (51.4) |
10.6 (51.1) |
8.1 (46.6) |
5.4 (41.7) |
2.6 (36.7) |
1.3 (34.3) |
5.3 (41.5) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.4 (29.5) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
1.4 (34.5) |
4.1 (39.4) |
6.7 (44.1) |
8.3 (46.9) |
8.0 (46.4) |
5.4 (41.7) |
2.8 (37.0) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
2.7 (36.9) |
Record low °C (°F) | −13.2 (8.2) |
−15.9 (3.4) |
−13.4 (7.9) |
−16.9 (1.6) |
−6.2 (20.8) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
2.5 (36.5) |
1.2 (34.2) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−9.9 (14.2) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
−14.0 (6.8) |
−16.9 (1.6) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 203.1 (8.00) |
178.6 (7.03) |
184.7 (7.27) |
155.9 (6.14) |
137.7 (5.42) |
171.7 (6.76) |
151.7 (5.97) |
211.0 (8.31) |
214.4 (8.44) |
242.2 (9.54) |
195.3 (7.69) |
206.2 (8.12) |
2,252.5 (88.69) |
Source: Icelandic Met Office[16] |
Sports
- Ungmennafélagið Katla is a sports club based in Vík í Mýrdal.
In popular culture
Vík í Mýrdal serves as the primary setting of Netflix's Icelandic original series Katla, which follows a group of the village's inhabitants as they struggle in the aftermath of the volcano's first eruption since 1918.[17]
See also
- List of settlements in Iceland
- Reynisdrangar
References
- ^ a b "Hagstofa Íslands, Mannfjöldi eftir sveitarfélögum". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ "The Iceland's black sand beach".
- ^ "South Iceland Birdwatching Guide". Vik Expeditions. 25 May 2021.
- ^ "Basalt Columns in Iceland: Names, Facts, and Features". iceland.org. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ "Reynisdrangar". Atlas Obscura. 31 August 2011.
- ^ Kyzer, Larissa (June 12, 2022). "Tourist Dies at Reynisfjara, Group Caught by Waves in the Same Spot the Next Day". Iceland Review.
- ISBN 978-1714366767.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link - ^ "Volcanic ash covers Icelandic town". BBC News. 2010-05-08.
- ^ "Iceland volcano threatens ash cloud sequel". CBS News.
- ^ Iceland volcano erupts; hundreds evacuated. The Washington Times
- ^ Bjarnason, Egill (2 September 2017). "Watching Katla: Icelanders plan for next volcanic eruption". Associated Press.
- ^ "Threat of new, larger Icelandic eruption looms". yahoo.com. Yahoo Inc. Archived from the original on 25 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ Lawless, Jill (14 January 2017). "Gushing geysers and steaming hot springs". The Hamilton Spectator (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada). p. G17.
- ^ "Tourists are flocking to volcano that's due for a massive eruption". 2 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- ^ "Vík í Mýrdal". Icelandic Meteorological Office. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ "Climatological Data for Vík í Mýrdal". Icelandic Meteorological Office. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ^ Scott, Sheena. "'Katla': Eerie New Netflix Original Series From Iceland". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
External links
- Media related to Vík í Mýrdal at Wikimedia Commons
- Vík í Mýrdal travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Beach at Reynisdrangar virtual tour