Vík í Mýrdal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Approaching Vík í Mýrdal

The beach at Vík

Reynisdrangar - sea stacks at Vík

The village Vík in the south of Iceland is indicated on road signs from a long distance (about 180 km from Reykjavík), despite its small size (about 300 inhabitants). It is an important service center for the inhabitants and tourists around the Mýrdalsjökull glacier.

A remarkable feature is the beautiful black beach with the Reynisdrangar, black basalt columns sculpted by the sea. A folk tale says that they are former trolls which were caught outside at dawn. The sea around them is rather wild and stormy, so travelers will not be surprised to discover a monument to the memory of drowned seamen at the beach. The American journal Islands Magazine counted this beach as one of the ten most beautiful beaches on Earth in 1991. The town is the wettest place in Iceland.

The near-by mountain Reynisfjall is very famous in ornithology circles. Many species of birds are to be seen there in summer, especially puffins. These may also be observed at the peninsula Dyrhólaey some kilometres away.

The village of Vík has another notable characteristic, one which may cause inconvenience to visitors. The risk of rainy days here is higher than in all the rest of Iceland.

Near Vík in 1964 and in 1965 two French sounding rockets of the type "Dragon" were launched from a transportable launch pad.

Vík is the site of the fictional Hanso Foundation's Vik Institute in the TV series Lost.

[edit] Danger from Katla

Vík lies directly downstream from the Mýrdalsjökull glacier, which itself is on top of the Katla volcano. Katla is not only an active volcano, it is also well overdue for an eruption. Locals fear that such an eruption could trigger an enormous flash flood of glacial runoff, potentially large enough to obliterate the entire town. The town's church, located high on a hill, is believed to be the only building that would survive such a flood. Thus, the people of Vík practice periodic drills and know to rush to the church at the first sign of an eruption.