Breiðafjörður

thumb|Main bays and fjords of Iceland. Breiðafjörður and Faxaflói are the largest bays. thumb|Breiðafjörður from Brjánslækur as the ferry Baldur arrives. Breiðafjörður (, wide fjord) is a large shallow bay of the Irminger Sea, about wide and long, to the west of Iceland. It separates the region of the Westfjords (Vestfirðir) from the Snæfellsnes peninsula to the south. Breiðafjörður is encircled by mountains, including Kirkjufell and the glacier Snæfellsjökull on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, and the Látrabjarg bird cliffs at the tip of the Westfjords. Numerous smaller fjords extend inland from Breiðafjörður, the largest being Hvammsfjörður at its southeastern corner. An interesting feature of the bay is that the land to the north was formed about 15 million years ago, whereas the land to the south was formed less than half that time ago.. Breiðafjörður therefore was formed by tectonic movements, and all the islands and skerries were made by volcanic eruptions to form ridges and craters that mostly line up in an east-west position.

==Nature== thumb|Intertidal zone in Skáleyjar islands at Breiðafjörður Breiðafjörður has a land and seascape consisting of shallow seas, small fjords and bays, and intertidal areas, dotted with about 3,000 islands, islets and skerries. The area contains about half of Iceland's intertidal area and tides can be . The bedrock was formed during rift volcanism in the late Tertiary period. The area consists mainly of basaltic lava that was deeply eroded by glaciers during the quaternary age, creating a diverse landscape. There are several geothermal sites, some visible only at low tide.