Westman Islands (Iceland)1 min read

Vestmannaeyjar is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland, sometimes anglicised as ‘Westman Islands‘. The main island is called ‘Heimaey’ and it has a population of around 4400 people, most of whom live in the archipelago’s main town, Vestmannaeyjabær. Westman Islands are surrounded by 15 uninhabited islands (although 6 of them have single hunting cabins) and around 30 rocks and skerries, with a very rich seabird life, so much so that they are considered to be the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the world. It is also not uncommon to see whales and seals. On the islands there are two volcanoes: one that erupted around 6000 years ago, and the ‘Eldfell’ that erupted in 1973, forcing all the inhabitants to leave the islands for the mainland. ‘World Heritage Unesco’ island of Surtsey was formed by an underground eruption from 1963-1967.

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