Tjornes (Tjörnes) - Puffins and Fossils
Tjornes (Tjörnes) - Puffins and Fossils
North of Husavik the road traces the Tjornes Peninsula with its varied and beautiful coastal landscapes: sheltered bays, offshore islands, high cliffs and beaches littered with driftwood brought over from Siberia by the ocean currents.
At Hallbjarnarstadir where there is a private museum of fossils. Tjornes is famous for fossil layers that show the different warm and cold phases during the Tertiary period.
The fossils are so interesting that the peninsula has become a place of study for geology students from across the world.
The fossils make it possible to trace changes in climate, vegetation, and marine life from the beginning of the Ice Age.
About 1km south of Hallbjarnarstadir there is a track to the small harbor of Tjorneshofn. You’ll need to open and close a gate. To avoid the steep descent to the sea, park at the top. Here the fossils can be seen in place – but nothing may be removed as it’s a protected site.
On the beach, by the harbor, you'll find a large lump of soapstone. As this type of rock is found in Greenland but not elsewhere in Iceland, it is assumed that it hitched a ride on an iceberg.
On the east side of the Tjornes peninsula, puffins can be observed from a cliff top viewpoint overlooking Oxarfjordur Bay.