Dalasýsla, ('Valley district'), reaches from Gljúfurá river in Skógarströnd to Gilsfjarðarbotn crevice and is bordered by rivers and waterways. Dalasýsla is one of the smaller districts in Iceland and one of the most sparsely populated. Agriculture, especially cattle rearing has long been the occupation of the people here.

Dalasýsla can be reached by many routes, and only recently, all the counties in the district, except Saurbæjarhreppur, joined to form the one county of Dalabyggð. Búðardalur is one of the most densely populated areas in Dalasýsla, and the sheriff’s seat is here. The mountains in the area are neither high nor steep, except up along Gilsfjörður fjord and Skarðströnd coast and near the valleys of Haukadalur and Hörðudalur.