Skip to content

Dverghamrar

Kirkjubæjarklaustur

Dverghamrar (Dwarf Rocks), just east of Foss, is a peculiar and beautiful columnar basalt formation. On top of the columns, there is cube-jointed basalt. 

The landscape is thought to have been molded at the end of the Ice Age. The sea level was higher at that time, and it is believed that the waves caused the peculiar look of the rocks. Dverghamrar is a protected natural monument. 

Columnar basalt is formed when lava flow gets cooled, and contraction forces build up. Cracks then form horizontally, and the extensive fracture network that develops results in the six-sided formation of the columns.