Geirfuglasker: Difference between revisions
No edit summary Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
Bizarre coordinates fixed. |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
{{Islands of Iceland}} |
{{Islands of Iceland}} |
||
{{Iceland-geo-stub}} |
{{Iceland-geo-stub}} |
||
{{coord|63|19 |
{{coord|63|19|04|N|20|29|49|W|type:isle_region:IS|display=title}} |
||
[[Category:Islands of Iceland]] |
[[Category:Islands of Iceland]] |
||
Revision as of 10:43, 3 June 2019
Geirfuglasker ("Great Auk Rock") was a small islet near Reykjanes, Iceland. It was volcanic rock with steep sides except for two landing places. The rough surf around the island usually made it inaccessible to humans, and one of the last refuges for the flightless bird the great auk (which was also called "garefowl" — "geirfugl" in Icelandic). In a volcanic eruption in 1830 this rock submerged. The surviving great auks moved to a nearby island called Eldey and were wiped out by humans several years later. Later a new Geirfuglasker appeared on the site.
Another island named Geirfuglasker is east of Surtsey in the Vestmannaeyjar.
In literature
It, and the fate of the great auk, is mentioned (spelled "Gairfowlskerry") in The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby by Charles Kingsley.
 | This Iceland location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |