Grímsstaðir

Grímsstaðir
—  Village  —
Location of the Municipality of Norðurþing
Grímsstaðir
Location of Grímsstaðir in Iceland
Coordinates:
Country  Iceland
Constituency[1] Norðausturkjördæmi
Region[2] Norðurland eystra
County Norður-Þingeyjarsýsla
Municipality Norðurþing
Time zone GMT (UTC+0)

Grímsstaðir is a settlement in north-east Iceland whose main claim to fame is that its weather station holds the low-temperature record for Iceland: no doubt due to its sheltered location (at altitude of about 400 metres) between two areas of highland (800 metres or more).

It is situated just off Route 1 (the main ring road around the island), where it crosses the large river Jökulsá á Fjöllum, about 37 km or 23 miles east of Lake Mývatn. The river was bridged in 1947: before that, traffic between north and east Iceland had to use a ferry.

Currently the settlement has some accommodation for tourists. It also has an airstrip, in common with many isolated rural settlements in Iceland. It is a recognised stop on the bus route between Akureyri and Egilsstaðir (up to one bus per day in summer) although it is only during summer that the buses venture off the main road to the settlement itself.

References

  1. ^ Political division
  2. ^ Mainly statistical division