Keflavík

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Keflavík on the Reykjanes peninsula of Iceland.

Keflavík is a town of around 10,200 inhabitants in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland.

It has now merged with Njarðvík and Hafnir to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Fictional connections
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

The harbour at Keflavík

Founded in the 16th century, Keflavík developed due to its fishing and fish processing industry. Later its growth continued from flight operations at the Keflavík International Airport which was built by the US during the 1940s. The airport used to hold a significant NATO military base and was a vital pre-jet refueling stop for trans-Atlantic commercial air traffic.

During WWII and the Cold War, Naval Air Station Keflavik played an important role in monitoring marine and submarine traffic from the Norwegian and Greenland Seas, into the Atlantic Ocean. During the Cold War, forces from the United States Air Force were added to provide radar monitoring, fighter intercept, in-flight refueling, and aerial/marine rescue. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, however, the base's role was cast into doubt, as there was little threat from Russian long-range bombers or from hostile submarines carrying SLBMs passing through the North Sea into the Atlantic. The base officially closed on September 30, 2006, as the United States withdrew the remaining 30 military personnel.

In Iceland, the town was renowned as a rich source of musicians during the 1960s and 70s, and is therefore also known as bítlabærinn or "The Beatle Town".

[edit] Geography

The local geography is dominated by fields of basalt rubble, interspersed with a few hardy plants and mosses. On a clear day, one can see Reykjavík across the bay, some 50 km away.

[edit] Fictional connections

The NATO military base Miðnesheiði is used as a setting for an important story line in Tom Clancy's novel Red Storm Rising. However, Clancy's descriptions of the base, the geography, local flora, and the station equipment were largely inaccurate.