Iceland
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
1.3km²
Area
5km
Coastline
155m
Highest point
0
People
12°C
Warmest sea
August
1,290km
To the mainland
When to go to Surtsey
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (12 °C) and coolest in February (7 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Volcanic island located in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the southern coast of Iceland
Surtsey is an island in Iceland. It belongs to Vestmannaeyjar. It covers 1.3 km², with 5 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 155 m. Nobody lives on it. The nearest mainland is 1,290 km away. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there
- Reykjavík Domestic Airport (RKV)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 113 km in a straight lineCar hire at RKV airport (Reykjavík)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 1,290 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Surtsey.
- 2named peaksAusturbunki, Vesturbunki
- 1volcanoesSurtsey
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 33 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 70 %0–50 m
- 30 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
1 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| Night low (°C) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Sea (°C) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 152 | 137 | 137 | 97 | 68 | 63 | 77 | 89 | 144 | 125 | 128 | 156 |
| Wet days | 21 | 19 | 20 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 20 |
| Sun h/day | 0.0 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 5.3 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 6.7 | 6.0 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 33 | 34 | 31 | 29 | 24 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 32 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.2 | −0.1 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.6 | −0.1 |
| 2021 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +0.3 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.6 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.5 | −0.1 | +0.3 | ±0.0 |
| 2022 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.1 | −0.3 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.6 |
| 2023 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +0.5 |
| 2024 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.4 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.1 |
| 2025 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +1.3 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +1.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q178124) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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