Ingólfshöfði

Template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / area missing

Ingólfshöfði is a bird cliffs and accessible only at low tide island on the south coast of Iceland on the beach 9-10 km south of Fagurholsmyri on Hringvegur (ring road) at the eastern edge of the Skeiðarársandur.

Geography

The high plateau of the island is 76 m high, 1200 m long and 750 m wide and mountable on a large dune. The plateau is covered with grassland and is used in summer for sheep grazing.

History

Here, according to legend came about the year 874, the first settlers Ingólfur Arnarson on land and settled in Reykjavík later. For the 1100 year celebration a monument commemorating thereto was built on the Cape in 1974.

Seafaring around the cape

On the mainland the barrier island is a lighthouse and a beacon for aviation. The lighthouse was built in 1916 and renovated in 1948. As early as 1912 had let a merchant from Reykjavík there build a emergency hut for the shipwrecked. it exists to this day and is maintained by SAR Iceland.

In the past, drove from the Cape also in open boats to fish the sea. However, the landing conditions deteriorated with each glacier run on the sander, so this had to be finally abandoned.

Nature reserve

The nature reserve, before the outwash plain, which has been in existence since 1978, is difficult to achieve, to safety on guided tours. It is co-supervised by the nearby National Park Skaftafell.

Fauna

On the plateau mainly nesting skuas and Arctic skuas as ground-nesting birds in Nistmulden. On the steep cliffs brooding Auks, as the characteristic puffin, but also razorbills ( Alca torda ), guillemots (Uria aalge ) and black guillemots ( Cepphus grylle ). Kittiwakes, fulmars, terns. In earlier times, many of the birds and their eggs provided an important food supplement for people of the area. However, was the " egg collecting " dangerous and many collectors rushed there from. The last such accident occurred at 1930. Nowadays the number must still be collected on eggs despite protection status, which does not lead to collapse of the stock.