Geirfuglasker

Geirfuglasker ("Great Auk rock") is a small island near Iceland. It was a volcanic rock surrounded by cliffs, which made it inaccessible to humans, and the last refuge for the Great Auk (which was also called "Garefowl", "geirfugl" etc locally). In a volcanic eruption in 1830 this rock submerged and the Great Auks moved to a nearby island called Eldey which was accessible from one side, and were wiped out by man. Later a new Geirfuglasker appeared on the site.

In literature

It, and the fate of the Great Auk, is mentioned (spelt as "Gairfowlskerry") in The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby by Charles Kingsley.