Westfjords, Icelandi

Regional Level Types
Westfjords	Region
Iceland	Country

The Westfjords or West Fjords (Icelandic: Vestfirðir [ˈvɛstˌfɪrðɪr̥]) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district, the least populous administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coast of Greenland. It is connected to the rest of Iceland by a seven-kilometre-wide isthmus between Gilsfjörður [ˈcɪlsˌfjœrðʏr̥] and Bitrufjörður [ˈpɪːtrʏˌfjœrðʏr̥]. The Westfjords are very mountainous; the coastline is heavily indented by dozens of fjords surrounded by steep hills. These indentations make roads very circuitous and communications by land difficult. In addition, many of the roads are closed by ice and snow for several months of the year. The Vestfjarðagöng road tunnel (opened in September 1996) has improved that situation. The cliffs at Látrabjarg comprise the longest bird cliff in the northern Atlantic Ocean and are at the westernmost point in Iceland. The Drangajökull glacier is located in the north of the peninsula and is the fifth-largest of the country, but the only glacier of the region.

Fossils

There are 4 fossil localities from the PaleoBioDB database within this region.

BETA TEST - These data are provided on an experimental basis and are taken from external databases. Mindat.org has no control currently over the accuracy of these data.

Occurrences	20
Youngest Fossil Listed	0.13 Ma (Pleistocene)
Oldest Fossil Listed	13.8 Ma (Miocene)
Stratigraphic Units	Unit No. Occurrences Age Skarðsströnd–Mókollsdalur 17 11.62 - 7.246 Ma (Miocene) Brjánslækur-Seljá 1 13.82 - 11.62 Ma (Miocene)
Fossils from Region	Click here to show the list.
Accepted Name Hierarchy Age Odobenus genus Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Carnivora : Odobenidae : Odobenus 0.126 - 0 Ma Quaternary Carabidae family Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Carabidae 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Curculionidae family Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Curculionidae 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Bibio genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Diptera : Bibionidae : Bibio 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Plecoptera genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Lepidoptera : Erebidae : Plecoptera 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Trichoptera genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Diptera : Trichoceridae : Trichoptera 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Dilophus genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Diptera : Bibionidae : Dilophus 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Penthetria genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Lepidoptera : Penthetria 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Brachycera suborder Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Diptera : Brachycera 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Cercopoidea superfamily Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Hemiptera : Cercopoidea 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Ichneumonoidea superfamily Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Hymenoptera : Ichneumonoidea 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Aculeata unranked clade Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Hymenoptera : Aculeata 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Neodermaptera suborder Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Dermaptera : Neodermaptera 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Orthocladiinae subfamily Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Diptera : Chironomidae : Orthocladiinae 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Daphniidae family Animalia : Arthropoda : Cladocera : Daphniidae 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Carabites islandicus species Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Carabidae : Carabites : Carabites islandicus 13.82 - 11.62 Ma Miocene Longistigma caryae species Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Hemiptera : Lachninae : Longistigma : Longistigma caryae 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Drusinae subfamily Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Trichoptera : Limnephilidae : Drusinae 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene Bibio edda species Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Diptera : Bibionidae : Bibio : Bibio edda 11.62 - 7.246 Ma Miocene
Fossil Localities	Click to show 4 fossil localities

Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westfjords
Wikidata ID:	Q727267
GeoNames ID:	3426185

Localities in this Region

Other Regions, Features and Areas that Intersect