Vík is a very small village in South Iceland, with about 300 inhabitants. Its importance comes largely from the fact that it's located about half-way along the south coast, and it's one of the few villages actually on the sandy beach that makes up most of the south coast. The area is dominated by Mýrdalsjökull, the glacier which is home to Katla, one of Iceland's fiercest volcanoes. The village and the surrounding countryside are in constant danger of floods that might result from the potential eruption of Katla, which has been expected for many years now.
On the other side of Vik is the Atlantic ocean which can be very treacherous in these parts, waves can be quite big and small boats can easily get swallowed up if the crews are not experienced enough. While there is no reason to worry about the volcano if you're a tourist, you should be very careful by the sea as there have been cases of tourists drowning when caught up in the waves on the beach near Vík.
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