Architecture and Materials

The lighthouse is a man-made single tower, with exact construction materials and date of erection not documented in available sources. The height of the tower is 25 meters above ground.

Light and Navigation

Skarðsfjöruviti serves as a major aid to navigation marking the Medhallandssandur coastal shoals. It features a light characteristic of Morse code “C” (–·–·) white, repeating every 30 seconds. The nominal range is 15 nautical miles.

Accessibility and Visiting

The tower itself is closed to visitors. However, the site is reachable by 4×4 or high-clearance vehicle via unpaved coastal roads off Route 1 near Kirkjubæjarklaustur.

Notable Views and Landscape

The lighthouse overlooks a broad sand plain (“sandur”) formed by glacial outwash from the nearby Skeiðarársandur. The flat, black-sand coastal landscape is typical of southern Iceland, with distant views toward the Atlantic horizon and, on clear days, the ice-capped peaks of Vatnajökull to the east.

Anecdotes and Folklore

No major shipwrecks in the immediate vicinity are documented in publicly accessible records. The site name Skipbrotsmannaskýli (“shipwreck keepers’ shelter”) refers to an earlier coastal rescue station once maintained here to aid survivors of shipping accidents—a common feature along treacherous southern coasts.

Technical and Operational Details

The lighthouse is fully automated and remotely monitored; no resident keeper is present. It serves as a major coastal light and DGPS station with racon, providing radar transponder (“racon”) signals to vessels.

Further Information

• • US NGA List of Lights, Radio Aids and Fog Signals, Pub. 115 (2010-09-09), “Iceland L 4775”
• • OpenStreetMap entry: way/206902041 (“Skarðsfjöruviti”)
• • Wikidata: Q3378394
• • Icelandic Coast Guard / Maritime Administration publications (for DGPS and racon station data)