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means both "whale beaching" and "windfall or godsend". However, there is no direct evidence to support this theory. Another theory is that the fjord is named after
Hvalfjall ("Whale Mountain", a mountain at the bottom of the fjord), which would have been in turn named after its visual appearance. A
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The origin of the name Hvalfjörður is uncertain. Certainly today there is no presence of whales in the fjord; while there is a whaling station in the fjord, whaling is conducted in the open ocean outside the fjord; likewise, it is modern and postdates the naming of the fjord. One theory as to the
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naming of the fjord is that early settlers encountered a pod of whales trapped in the fjord who ended up beached; the stranding of whales was in early
Iceland a godsend in the meat that it provided, to the point that the word
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common folk story of unknown age also is sometimes presented as the origin of the name, involving an elf woman who transformed her human lover into an angry red-headed whale ("
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The only whaling station in
Iceland is still located in this fjord. In the past the fjord also contained many herring fisheries.
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Until the late 1990s, those travelling by car had to make a long detour of 62 kilometres (39 miles) around the fjord on the
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In the northwestern side of the fjord is
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is common, along with other flowers and moss, as well as small forests of
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Road No. 47 (the former ringroad) on the fjord's southern shore
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The south side of the fjord runs through the municipality of
612:"Icelandic Company Plans to Recommence Whaling This Summer"
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Looking southeast across Hvalfjörður at dawn, November 2007
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The Odd Saga of the
American and a Curious Icelandic Flock
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The Odd Saga of the
American and a Curious Icelandic Flock
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navies could be found in this fjord. The
British base,
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508:View into the Botnsdalur from the Hvalfjörður
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520:View from the Botnsdalur out the Hvalfjörður
343:A portrait of the legend of the valley of
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120:Learn how and when to remove this message
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451:A hiking trail to the formerly-highest
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389:Flag Officer Commanding, Iceland (C)
58:adding citations to reliable sources
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571:Hallgrímskirkja (Hvalfirði)
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597:"Hvitanes – Iceland 2016"
306:[ˈkʰvalˌfjœrðʏr̥]
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687:Western Region (Iceland)
302:Icelandic pronunciation:
291:80 metres (260 ft)
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472:Svarthöfði Dufgusson
468:Age of the Sturlungs
453:waterfall in Iceland
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54:improve this article
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697:Whaling in Iceland
566:Tunnels in Iceland
561:Whaling in Iceland
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682:Fjords of Iceland
649:978-1-4663-8335-7
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52:Please help
47:verification
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330:Mosfellsbær
298:Hvalfjörður
272:Max. length
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196:Coordinates
173:Hvalfjörður
140:Whale fjord
135:Hvalfjörður
676:Categories
583:References
464:Geirshólmi
396:hringvegur
385:HMS Baldur
373:naval base
280:Max. width
80:newspapers
576:Maríuhöfn
404:Borgarnes
400:Reykjavík
359:Rauðhöfði
110:June 2021
18:Hvalfjord
550:See also
446:conifers
430:volcanic
381:American
354:hvalreki
328:between
250:Faxaflói
185:Location
655:1 April
621:1 April
377:British
375:of the
367:During
334:Akranes
326:Iceland
209:21°40′W
206:64°23′N
189:Iceland
94:scholar
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457:Glymur
434:Botnsá
345:Glymur
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322:fjord
319:whale
240:Fjord
101:JSTOR
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657:2023
644:ISBN
623:2023
444:and
419:Laxá
415:Kjós
379:and
371:, a
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235:Type
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