Is the most northern part of Iceland still there?
Kolbeinsey is the most northern part of Iceland, a tiny island that, according to Wikipedia, is due to disappear due to wave erosion “probably around the year 2020”. Which raised an obvious question: is it still there?
THANKS TO:
This video was inspired by some tweets from author Sam Hughes. You can follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/qntm and read his work here: https://qntm.org/fiction
The pilots and team at Norlandair, who sorted out a charter at very short notice: https://www.norlandair.is/
The folks at the Hafdals Hotel, who were okay with me filming from their spectacular view!
FILMED SAFELY: see https://www.tomscott.com/safe/
PHOTO CREDITS:
Grimsey photos, in order, all licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Michael Pollak, “basaltsäulen”: https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelpollak/30409397618/
John Lester, “IMG_0546”: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pathfinderlinden/190514442/
Brian Gratwicke, “Puffin on Grimsey”: https://www.flickr.com/photos/briangratwicke/14809239484/
Michael Pollak, “marker”: https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelpollak/29340290367/
All photos of Kolbeinsey in 1989 and 2001 are copyright Guðmundur St. Valdimarsson, and used with permission and thanks.
Photos from 2013 are copyright of Landhelgisgæsla Íslands (the Icelandic Coast Guard), and used with permission and thanks.
And the “so I chartered a plane” gag is very heavily inspired by Matt Parker’s video about stroboscopic helicopter blades: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SgG99QKLFE
SOURCES and FURTHER READING:
Sæmundsson and Hjartarson (1989), “Geology and Erosion of Kolbeinsey North of Iceland”, http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20061115000423/http://www.isor.is/~ah/kolbeinsey/kolb_ensk.html
Jacobsen, T., & Stone, I. (2006). Kolbeinsey: Iceland’s Arctic island. Polar Record, 42(2), 167-169. doi: 10.1017/s0032247406215298
From Landhelgisgæsla Íslands (the Icelandic Coast Guard):
https://www.lhg.is/frettir-og-fjolmidlar/frettasafn/frettayfirlit/nr/212
https://www.lhg.is/frettir-og-fjolmidlar/frettasafn/frettayfirlit/nr/1652
https://www.lhg.is/frettir-og-fjolmidlar/frettasafn/frettayfirlit/nr/2564
https://www.lhg.is/frettir-og-fjolmidlar/frettasafn/frettayfirlit/nr/2611
The Cod Wars, from the UK National Archives: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/cod-wars.htm
And of course, the Wikipedia article for Kolbeinsey, which will presumably be updated shortly after this video goes live. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolbeinsey
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@TomScottGo
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
There are a lot of people to thank for helping this video come together; pull down the description to see them all!
@Alfie-ck9le
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
"…also responsible for the antiemetics division stories over on the SCP wiki" well I didn't expect to hear that mentioned on a Tom Scott video about a random Icelandic rock but there we go
@fuiehfjfcnsl
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
ein Kommentar
@sherlockholmes6990
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
And here I am four years later having just watched this video and wondering if Kolbeinsey is still there.
@Awildjaapappeared
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
I genuinely said 'ahh too bad' after 'you need to charter a plane' but I forgot who I was dealing with
@sourcererseven3858
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
It's soon going to be five years. Time to check up on it again maybe?
I know the Icelandic coast guard has done its own follow-up in 2021, but they don't count, they're not in the Commonwealth.
@LazySleestack
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
If they wanted to take a hint from China Iceland could try dredging up the sea bottom to MAKE an island. Or remake in this case.
@Moechtegernpilot1
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
Can I claim it?
@jamesanderson2176
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
I think I might've chartered a FLOAT plane for that particular trip (just in case).
@Hiromandt
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
There's actually no polar night on the Arctic circle. On the winter solstice the center of the sun is on the horizon at midday so the top half of the sun is still visible for a few hours. Polar night only begins more than 100 km farther north where the sun entirely disappears.
@gabrielszabo1601
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
Is it still there?
@Cpr1234
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
Can anyone confirm if it is still there in 2025 or has it completely gone now
@bird6691
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
Gull Island
@peterhoz
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
0:55 Someone better tell Rovaniemi, Finland, that Santa needs to re-paint the line!
@Minecraft-pj4hm
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
If the UK had kept Heligoland.
@swoopydoopy4851
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
… is it still there?
@E11or
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
Why do people live there? Its cool but why
@v94-n4s
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
Tom Scott mentioning the SCP Wiki was not on my bingo card
@fruit3193
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
I wonder what’s going on with that little Icelandic rock nowadays.
@ikaro555
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
We need an update!
@TheVanpablo79
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
2025 update?
@Strikex2_
August 31, 2025 at 2:01 am
anyone else getting lava vibes from this (the song)?
Comments are closed.