Tag Archives: iceland

Baffin Island

  By David | February 28, 2013 - 12:00 am | Nature, Travel
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Northeast coast of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada

Northeast coast of Baffin Island, Nunavut, photo courtesy Ansgar Walk.

Baffin Island, whith an area of 507,451 km2 (195,928 sq mi), is the largest island in Canada. The island, located in the territory of Nunavut, has population of about 11,000.

Baffin Island was named after English explorer William Baffin, and it is likely that the island was known to Pre-Columbian Norse explorers from Greenland and Iceland and may be the location of Helluland, spoken of in the Icelandic sagas (the Grœnlendinga saga and the Saga of Erik the Red, Eiríks saga rauða).

Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

  By David | December 14, 2012 - 12:00 am | History, Travel
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The peninsula Tinganes in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

The peninsula Tinganes in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, photo courtesy Erik Christensen.

Tórshavn is the capital of the Faroe Islands, an archipelago under the sovereignty of Denmark situated halfway between Norway and Iceland. With a population of around 13,000 (19,000 in the greater urban area) Tórshavn is also the largest town of the Faroes.

The Vikings established their parliament on the Tinganes peninsula in 850 CE, and since then Tórshavn has been the capital of Faroe Islands. All through the Middle Ages this narrow peninsula made up the main part of Tórshavn. The town has grown rapidly ever since the turn of the 20th century into the administrative, economic and cultural centre of the Faroe Islands.