The largest and only inhabited island in the Vestmannaeyjar (Westmann Isles) group off Iceland’s southwest coast, Heimaey is home to just under 5,000 people. It came to international attention in 1973, when the lava flow from a nearby volcanic eruption nearly destroyed the town. Swimming, hiking, golfing, sailing, horseback riding and bird and whale watching are just some of the popular activities at Heimaey. Passage from the mainland takes about three hours by ferry or about half an hour by air.
Known as Vestmannaeyjar locally, the Westmann Isles are Iceland’s most important and newest island group, just 5,000 years old and still active volcanically. The latest addition, Surtsey, came courtesy of an undersea eruption in 1963. Because of their youth, the islands are especially rugged and are renowned for their sheer cliffs, which serve as home to huge bird populations (10 million puffins alone live here). As for people, Heimaey is the only island in the cluster that’s inhabited.
Vestmannaeyjar (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈvɛstmanːaˌeiːjar], sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a town and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland.
The largest and only inhabited island in the Vestmannaeyjar (Westmann Isles) group off Iceland’s southwest coast, Heimaey is home to just under 5,000 people. It came to international attention in 1973, when the lava flow from a nearby volcanic eruption nearly destroyed the town. Swimming, hiking, golfing, sailing, horseback riding and bird and whale watching are just some of the popular activities at Heimaey. Passage from the mainland takes about three hours by ferry or about half an hour by air.
Known as Vestmannaeyjar locally, the Westmann Isles are Iceland’s most important and newest island group, just 5,000 years old and still active volcanically. The latest addition, Surtsey, came courtesy of an undersea eruption in 1963. Because of their youth, the islands are especially rugged and are renowned for their sheer cliffs, which serve as home to huge bird populations (10 million puffins alone live here). As for people, Heimaey is the only island in the cluster that’s inhabited.
Known as Vestmannaeyjar locally, the Westmann Isles are Iceland’s most important and newest island group, just 5,000 years old and still active volcanically. The latest addition, Surtsey, came courtesy of an undersea eruption in 1963. Because of their youth, the islands are especially rugged and are renowned for their sheer cliffs, which serve as home to huge bird populations (10 million puffins alone live here). As for people, Heimaey is the only island in the cluster that’s inhabited.
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