Iceland's Three Mountain Ranges: Highlands, Westfjords & Eastfjords

Iceland's mountains aren't arranged in classic parallel ranges—they're volcanic, glacial, and tectonically fragmented. Geographers group them into three principal regions:

1. Central Highlands Mountain Region

• Nature: Vast interior plateau (400–800 m avg), not a single ridge.
• Features: Ice caps (Vatnajökull, Hofsjökull, Langjökull), volcanic systems (Bárðarbunga, Grímsvötn, Askja), rhyolite mountains (Landmannalaugar), geothermal fields (Hveravellir, Kerlingarfjöll).
• Peaks: Hvannadalshnúkur (2,110 m, Öræfajökull/Vatnajökull) — highest. Others: Snæfell (1,833 m), Herðubreið (1,682 m, "Queen of Icelandic Mountains").
• Access: F-roads (4x4 only), summer only (Jun–Sep). No permanent settlements.

2. Westfjords (Vestfirðir) Mountain Region

• Nature: Deeply dissected peninsula—fjords carved by glaciers, steep basalt ridges (10–16 Ma).
• Structure: Not a continuous range; series of parallel ridges separated by fjords (Ísafjarðardjúp, Arnarfjörður, Patreksfjörður).
• Peaks: Kaldbakur (998 m), Bolafjall (638 m), Kirkjubólsfjall.
• Character: Dramatic coastal cliffs (Látrabjarg — 14 km, 441 m, puffins), remote roads (Dynjandi waterfall), tiny fishing villages.

3. Eastfjords (Austfirðir) Mountain Region

• Nature: Similar fjord-mountain architecture, older basalt (12–13 Ma), less glaciated.
• Structure: Broad valleys, rounded peaks, extensive scree. Fjords: Seyðisfjörður, Reyðarfjörður, Fáskrúðsfjörður, Stöðvarfjörður.
• Peaks: Snæfell (1,833 m, actually Central Highlands but accessed via Eastfjords), Gautatindur (1,024 m), Víknaslóðir hiking area.
• Character: Reindeer (only wild herd in Iceland), abandoned farms, Seyðisfjörður arts scene, Ring Road (Route 1) traverses.

Other Notable Massifs

• Snæfellsnes Peninsula: Snæfellsjökull (1,446 m, stratovolcano + glacier) — "Journey to the Center of the Earth" setting.
• Troll Peninsula (Tröllaskagi): North — alpine peaks, heli-skiing, Siglufjörður.
• Eyjafjallajökull / Katla / Hekla: South — active volcanic mountains, not ranges.

Iceland has no "mountain ranges" in the Alpine/Andean sense—no collisional orogeny. Its mountains are volcanic constructs and glacial sculptures on a spreading ridge. The three "ranges" are really physiographic regions. For hikers: think volcanic deserts, rhyolite color fields, glacier outlets, and fjord walls—not continuous ridges.