Dyrhólaey

Dyrhólaey ‘Door Hole Island’ is a 510 acre promontory, south of Mýrdalsjökull and used to be the southernmost point in the country, until the formation of Kötlutangi during the 1918 eruption of Katla volcano. The western side, called Háey, (High Island) is made of tuff and Lágey (Low Island) on the eastern side is mainly made of basalt. The south side of Dyrhólaey is a narrow strip,100 m in height, with vertical cliffs that drop abruptly to the sea on either side. The promontory forms an archway large enough for boats to pass through and is the ‘door’  from which the its name is drawn. Dyrhólaey was formed about 100 thousand years ago in the warmup period of the  last ice age in an underwater eruption that has its similarities to Surtsey, the famous volcano island southwest of the Westman Islands. Dyrhólaey is an important bird nesting site and the area has been protected since 1978.