While I am in awe of Iceland’s mid-Atlantic ridge system volcanics and its glacial geology, I still like to see sediments and fossils. So – as I was doing my pre-trip research into Icelandic geology, I found that there are about 500 meters of Pliocene strata exposed on the west coast of the Tjornes Peninsula in northern Iceland. Needless to say, the Tjornes Peninsula became part of my travels in Iceland. I’m so glad that my friend told me to have a look at an iceland car rental 4×4 to make it easier to get across the country and to see all these amazing places which has brilliant Icelandic geology. Who doesn’t love a good road trip? An old colleague of mine has actually just returned from a road trip around Iceland. It was a totally last-minute decision too. Within the space of a few days, her flights, and campervan rental from Rent.is were booked and she was on her way. I have always wanted to go to Iceland, so I was incredibly jealous at the time. You might even say that her antics inspired this trip of my own!
Anyway, the best way to access the Tjornes sequence is to go to the Tungulending Guesthouse, which is about 12 km north of Husavik. The turnoff for the guesthouse is just off Highway 85 and signed as shown by the photo below. Of course we missed it and kept driving a few km up the main road before we stopped to ask a local farmer. The farmer knew exactly where we wanted to go and sent us back down the road to Tungulending. Once we saw the Tungulending main sign and then passed the guesthouse gate, we knew we were headed in the right direction.
Tungulending sign for guesthouse turnoff from Highway 85. 
Gate for local access road that leads down the cliff face to the Tungulending Guesthouse.
The Tjornes Pliocene strata contain both marine and continental deposits. The strata sit on the Kaldakvisl lavas while the Hoskuldsvik lavas cap the sedimentary sequence. The Tjornes Formation records a coastal environment that includes estuary-swamp, shallow marine-beach, and swamp-fluvial settings that existed in between the basaltic lava events (Simonarsson and Eriksson, 2008). These strata include a diverse mollusc fauna and recently the oldest marine vertebrate fossil in Iceland, a partial skull from a fossil whale (a large right whale), was also found within the Tjornes Formation (Field and others, 2017). Jonathon Hall, a Doctoral Researcher in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham – UK, has put together a great leaflet on the geology of the Tjornes Peninsula, and the leaflet content can be found here: Geology of the Tjornes Peninsula.
Even if you are enthralled with Iceland’s volcanic and glacial geology, it is still well worth a look at the Tjornes Formation and a visit to the Tungulending Guesthouse for good conversation and food!
