Skaftaros – Skafta River

Region: South Iceland
Coordinates: 63.661130° N 17.806597° W

A general store was built at Skafárós in 1920 while the transportation of goods to the east of Iceland had begun in the spring of 1918 by way of a motorised ship named Skaftfellingur. The building’s 100 square meter foundation supported a basement and two upper floors. It was used for the next 22 years, after which the house was dismantled and the material transported to Klaustur where it was used to build another general store. A section of the original building was used as a shelter for shipwrecked seamen, many of whom were stranded on the treacherous, harbourless coast. Many shipwrecked (sailors) are buried in the sands of nearby Meðaland. A lighthouse was built at Skaftárós in 1953.

Text and Photo Credit: Katla Geopark.