Almost 5,000 people live along this broad fjord or in the fertile valley at its head: Sauðarkrókur, 25km (16 miles) north of the Ring Road, is a likable coastal town with over half of the region's population. Near Sauðarkrókur, Glaumbær Folk Museum is the most engaging of Iceland's many 19th-century turf-roofed farmsteads. Inside the fjord are the strangely-shaped islands of Drangey and Málmey. Hólar, home to Iceland's northern bishop from 1106 to 1798, retains some vestiges of its former glory. Hofsós, halfway up Skagafjörður's eastern shore, was a launch point for Icelandic emigrants to North America, and many of their descendants return there to visit the Emigration Museum and genealogical center. Siglufjörður, the most beautifully situated town in north Iceland, is 55km (35 miles) northeast of Hofsós: the main draws here are the Herring Era museum and the surrounding mountains. Skagafjörður is famous across Iceland for its horse breeding and horsemanship, and for adrenaline-seekers, the Eystri-Jökulsá is one of Iceland's fiercest rivers for white-water rafting.
