Hnífsdalur (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈn̥ifsˌtaːlʏr̥]) is a small village in the municipality of Ísafjarðarbær, located between Bolungarvík and Ísafjörður.

Some guess that the thin or sharp line of the mountain range resembles that of a knife.

No mention is made of the place in the Book of Settlement.

In 1910 an avalanche killed 20 people in Hnífsdalur,[1] one of the deadliest in Iceland in the 20th century.

[citation needed] On 25 September 2010, Bolungarvíkurgöng, a 5,156 m (16,916 ft) tunnel between Hnífsdalur and neighbouring town Bolungarvík, was opened.