North Eastern Atlantic

The Atlantic off southeastern Iceland approaches a coast of steep mountains and long fjords. Reyðarfjörður cuts deeply into the eastern shore, giving shelter behind its mountain walls. In the summer of 1627 corsairs from Algiers and Salé reached Iceland's eastern and southern coasts, attacking settlements and taking captives to be sold into slavery. The raid showed that even the island's remote fjords could be reached by ships from far across the ocean.