Rif Harbor Webcam – See Fishing Boats on Snaefellsnes

The Rif Harbor Webcam looks down on the inner basin of Rif, a small fishing village at the northwestern tip of Iceland’s Snaefellsnes peninsula. A concrete quay with black tire fenders and yellow bollards runs across the foreground, and a blue and white trawler often lies alongside it. Behind the water, a rock breakwater curves around to a finger pier, with the road and the village’s fish sheds beyond. A second camera, in the next tab, takes in the whole harbor through a fisheye lens, with mountains along the horizon. The picture changes with the boats and with the northern light, which in midwinter gives Rif less than four hours between sunrise and sunset.

About Rif Harbor

Rif sits on the north shore of Snaefellsnes, about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) east of Hellissandur and about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) west of Olafsvik. The three villages make up the municipality of Snaefellsbaer, formed when they merged in 1994, and its harbor authority runs the ports at Olafsvik, Rif and Arnarstapi. It streams five cameras from them, two of them here at Rif. Snaefellsjokull, the 700,000-year-old glacier-capped volcano at the end of the peninsula, rises less than 15 kilometers (9 miles) to the south, and a small airfield lies near the village.

Fishing on this coast goes back centuries. Hellissandur already had more than 60 fishermen’s huts in the early 1600s, and over time Rif, with the better natural harbor, took over the fishing and processing while Hellissandur became the trading post. Rif also has a place in the region’s history: in 1467 the governor Bjorn Thorleifsson was killed here, and his widow Olof avenged him. The stone where he died, Bjornssteinn, can still be found in the village.

The modern harbor grew out of a 1951 act of parliament for a state-funded harbor at Rif, which fishermen from Hellissandur had pushed for after losing boats at their exposed landing at Krossavik. Larger fishing boats tie up along the concrete quays of the inner basin, while the panorama camera also picks up the smaller boats moored at floating pontoons on the far side.

Weather and Climate in Rif

Winters at Rif are mild for a village at almost 65 degrees north. Averages for the harbor over the last ten years put daytime highs at about 2 to 3 C (36 to 37 F) from December through March, with nights near -1 to 0 C (30 to 32 F). Spring is slow: May highs average about 8 C (46 F). July and August are the warmest months, with highs around 12 C (54 F) and lows near 9 C (48 F), and by October highs are back to about 7 C (44 F). The mountains on the panorama camera’s horizon already carried fresh snow in late October.

Light changes the picture more than the thermometer does. Around the June solstice the sun is up for about 22 hours, so the harbor stays bright late into the night. Around the December solstice the sun is above the horizon for less than four hours and climbs only about 2 degrees at noon, so the cameras spend most of the day in twilight or darkness. In spring and autumn the low sun throws long shadows over the quay and glare across the water, which shows clearly on the main camera in the early afternoon.

Things to Do Near Rif

Rif and Hellissandur are gateways to Snaefellsjokull National Park, one of Iceland’s three national parks and the only one that reaches all the way to the sea. The Saxholl crater is among the sights nearby. Hellissandur is home to the Maritime Museum, and murals by Icelandic and international artists decorate buildings around the village, so a walk through its streets doubles as an open-air gallery.

Ingjaldsholl church stands on a low rise between Hellissandur and Rif. Built of concrete in 1903, it is one of the oldest concrete churches in Iceland, and local legend says Christopher Columbus spent the winter of 1477 at the Ingjaldsholl farm. The little church went viral online as the “eye-test church” for its likeness to the house shown in optometrists’ machines. Back in Rif, the Freezer is a social hostel inside a renovated fish factory, and the wetlands and shore around the village attract nesting and migrating birds. Olafsvik, where most of the municipality’s residents live, is 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) east, and the villages of Arnarstapi and Hellnar sit on the south coast closer to the volcano.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

For more harbors along Iceland’s coast and in the far north, try these cameras.

• Stykkisholmur Webcam
• Westman Islands Webcam
• Kamoyvaer Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Rif Harbor located?

Rif Harbor is in the village of Rif, in the municipality of Snaefellsbaer at the northwestern tip of the Snaefellsnes peninsula in West Iceland. The nearest town is Olafsvik, about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) to the east, and Hellissandur is about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) to the west.

What can you see on the Rif Harbor Webcam?

The main camera looks across the inner basin from above a concrete quay, where a fishing boat is often moored, toward a rock breakwater, a finger pier and the fish sheds along the road. The second tab is a fisheye view of the whole harbor: the long central pier with its rock armor, boats along the quays, smaller craft at the pontoons and mountains on the horizon. A clock in the top left corner and the camera name in the top right are part of the picture.

What is the weather like in Rif?

Cool all year, without deep cold. Winter highs average about 2 to 3 C (36 to 37 F) and summer highs about 12 C (54 F), with July and August the warmest months. The bigger seasonal change is daylight, from about 22 hours in June to less than four in December.

Why does the Rif Harbor Webcam stop playing?

The player is set by the camera’s owner to pause after 10 minutes of watching. Press play again to pick the live picture back up; nothing is wrong with the stream.

What time is it in Rif, Iceland?

Iceland keeps Greenwich Mean Time (UTC) all year and does not change its clocks in summer. The clock in the corner of the camera picture runs on that time, so it also gives the local time in Rif.

Are there other webcams on the Snaefellsnes peninsula?

Yes. The Snaefellsbaer harbor authority streams five cameras: two at Olafsvik, two at Rif and one at Arnarstapi on the south coast. Both Rif cameras are on this page. Further east along the north coast, our Stykkisholmur webcam watches the harbor and islands of Breidafjordur.

How many hours of daylight does Rif get in winter?

Around the December solstice the sun is up for less than four hours a day and reaches only about 2 degrees above the horizon at noon. The days lengthen quickly either side of it: in late October they still run to about eight and a half hours.

Source: Snaefellsbaer Harbors