THE NORTHERN FJORDS
Bortheyri in Hrutafjord was our next port of call. It was by no means
an interesting place: the country was low-lying, and the settlement
consisted of a few houses only. We left early in the afternoon, and
steamed almost due north out of the fjord. When in Hunafloi beyond
the promontory that separates Hrutafjord and Mithfjord, we obtained
an excellent view, looking straight up Mithfjord, of Eyriks Jökull.
Later on, after rounding the promontory of Vatnsnes, and when crossing
Hunafjord towards Blonduos, we caught sight of Lang Jökull, and could
trace distinctly the line of the ice-field, although nearly seventy
miles distant.
We anchored opposite Blonduos late in the evening. The settlement
consists of a store or two, a few houses, and a church. We did not
go ashore, for no boat was available until the sun had set, and it
was getting quite dark. It was about a quarter-past nine when the sun
descended below the horizon. The sunset effects were very fine--one of
those magnificent sights that Iceland is famous for.
The Blandá, one of Iceland's largest rivers, discharges its waters
into the fjord at Blonduos, which lies at its mouth. The river rises at
Lang and Hoff Jökulls, and brings down thence considerable quantities
of glacier water, proof of which is the whitish colour of the water of
Hunafjord round about Blonduos. Seals were said to abound there; one
was seen, I believe, but my own eyes did not fall upon it.
Skagastrond was not much more than an hour's sail. The coast hereabouts
is not so precipitous as that all round the North-West Peninsula: there
is more lowland between the shore and the mountains, which stand back
several miles from the coast, and the nature of the country is more
undulating. The original level of the lava flows of this peninsula,
Hegranes, can be well seen, as we saw it, from the western side of
Hunafloi. The land has been much more worn down than has that of the
North-West Peninsula, and only comparatively small fragments of the
upper flows remain. I went ashore in the afternoon and found the land
rather swampy, with peat bogs in places. A very small boy and a dog
bigger than the boy both made friendly overtures to me when I was
strolling along by the beach; they were both sportively inclined, and
engaged in several rough-and-tumble scrambles. There are several small
islands in the vicinity whereon the eider duck has its home, and where
it brings forth its young during the nesting season in the spring. The
eider-duck industry is an increasing one, and year by year the birds
are more cared for.
We reached Sautharkrokr early the next morning, and after breakfast I
went ashore. The town is built under the steeply sloping face of an
old moraine, the material of which was brought down the valley at the
back of the town; a stream runs down the valley by a channel which it
has eroded through the old moraine matter. From a prominent situation
above the town I obtained a good view up the Herradsvötn (the left
bifurcation of it, that is), where there is a lake several miles long
close to the mouth of the river. The lake was no doubt at one time
part of Skagafjord, and it is probable that the northerly seas rolling
up the fjord met the waters of the river laden with solid particles,
and caused the deposition of the detritus and the gradual formation
of a bar; the final stages were doubtless the gradual widening of
the alluvial dam, and the gradual filling up of one side of the lake
itself. Looking up the valley I saw our old friend Maelifellshnukr
standing out prominently to the right at a distance of but twenty-five
miles. In Sautharkrokr a peculiar dwelling attracted my attention; it
was the deck-house of an old wrecked vessel.
One of the few wild animals found in Iceland is the blue fox; we had
two on board the _Vesta_. Though in a hopeless state of captivity they
were quite untamed, and snapped at any one who attempted to be friendly
with them.
On leaving Sautharkrokr and sailing two or three miles north into
Skagafjord, Kolbeinsdalr opened out on the east side. This valley has
been fairly well worn down: there is a mass of moraine matter on the
sea front, which is cut through by a mountain stream from the Unadal
and Myrkar Jökulls. Farther north the valleys of Deildardalr and
Unadalr came into view. Then we passed between a tuff hill that almost
hides Lake Hofthavatn, and Drangey Island, where an outlying Kerling
rock (old woman) stands pillar-like beside it; there was a Karl rock
(old man) also, but it fell recently. Malmey Island was next passed.
The section of this island is peculiar, for a thick stratum of what
looks like iron-stone lava lies on the top, then there are two or three
layers of basaltic lava with what is apparently sedimentary strata
between them, and beneath all there is some tuff. The situation of Lake
Hofthavatn is also peculiar. The tuff hill in front of it is connected
with the mainland by the merest strips on each side; the hill was no
doubt an island not long ago, and the strips of land are beaches washed
up by the action of the sea on the north side, and on the south by the
effect of the current when the Herradsvötn river is in flood.
The entrance to Siglufjord is very fine, and it is remarkable for
its bold masses of lava. On the western side the flows are clearly
indicated, as also is the peculiar erosion. There are bands of red tuff
between some of the lava flows, also several scree slopes and alluvial
fans at the foot; on the eastern side there are pyramidal peaks. Inside
the fjord and at its head the bold scenery is continued. All this was
made brilliant by some wonderful sunset effects later in the evening.