PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 271 



Hornstrandir (the coast down either side of Cape Nord), is carried by 

 the coastal current (the Irminger Current) along Strandasysla into 

 Hunafloi, from thence outwards along the east coast of this fjord, 

 then further eastwards along the entire north coast, past Langanes 

 and on, down to the east and south coasts, w r here it either melts 

 or else drifts away into the open sea. The ice w r hich comes to South 

 Iceland always conies from the east, never from the north-west. In 

 severe ice-years the drift-ice may blockade the whole of the south 

 coast as far as to Cape Reykjanes; on the other hand, it very rarely 

 happens that any drift-ice enters Faxafloi and more rarely still that 

 any icebergs drift past the north-western fjords into Brei5ifjor5ur; 

 the ice is not known to have been grounded on the land, down past 

 Patriksfjordur, for the last 200 years. The most severe ice-year known 

 was the year 1695: in that year drift-ice surrounded the whole island 

 with the exception of Snaefellsnes - - a fact unparalled in the history 

 of the country. In most of the places the ice occurred in such quantities 

 in that year that open water \vas not visible from the highest moun- 

 tains. As usual the ice drifted from North Iceland to South Iceland 

 and then southwards and reached Thorlakshofn as early as April: 

 from thence it drifted into Faxafloi as far as Hitaros, and from the 

 north-w r est the ice drifted past Latrabjarg into Brei5ifjor5ur. In the 

 beginning of May it was possible to walk and ride everywhere out- 

 side all the fjords of North Iceland. It sometimes happens that the 

 drift-ice drifts to Langanes and then dow r n to the east coast without 

 touching the north coast. 1 The Polar current bears great quantities 

 of drift-wood to the northern coast of Iceland, most frequently to 

 the neighbourhood of Cape Nord and Langanes. The greater part 

 of this drift-wood starts probably from Siberia; that of most common 

 occurrence is Larix sibirica, Picea obovata, Abies sibirica, Finns 

 cembra, Pinus silvestris, Popnlns tremiila, Salix vitellina, and others. 2 



1 Th. Thoroddsen: Den gronlandska drifisen vid Island (Ymer. Stockholm, 

 1884, pp. 145160). C. Ryder: Isforholdene i Nordhavet, 18771892 ;Tidsskrift 

 for S0va?sen, 1896). V. Garde: Isforholdene i de arktiske Have in Nautisk Mete- 

 orologisk Aarbog of 1898 and subsequent years (in Danish and English). W. 

 Meinardus: Periodische Schwankungen der Eisdrift bei Island (Annalen der 

 Hydrographie und Maritimen Meteorologie. 1906). 



J. G. Agardh: Om den Spetsbergska Drifvedens ursprung (Overs, af Kgl. 

 Vet. Ak. Forh., 1869, No. 2, pp. 97119). A. G. Nathorst: Tva somrar i norra Is- 

 hafvet. Stockholm, 1900, I, p. 345. Th. Thoroddsen: Ferdasaga af VestfjorSum 

 (Andvari, XIII, 1887, pp. 164168) and Ferdabok, II, 1914, pp. 6370. Compare 

 Geografisk Tidsskrift, IX, p. 45. E. Olafsson: Rejse gennem Island (1772), I, pp. 

 508 513. O. Olavius: Oekonomisk Rejse gennem Island (1780), pp. 126146. 



