Andøya is the northernmost island in the
Vesterålen
Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the archipe ...
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...
, situated about inside the
Arctic circle. Andøya is located in
Andøy Municipality
Andøy is the northernmost municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Vesterålen archipelago. The main island in the municipality is Andøya. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Andenes. Other village ...
in
Nordland county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. The main population centres on the island include the villages of
Andenes
is the administrative centre of Andøy Municipality which is located in the Vesterålen district of Nordland county, Norway. The village of Andenes is the northernmost settlement of the island of Andøya (and in Nordland county). To the east ...
,
Bleik
Bleik is a fishing village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the northwestern part of the island of Andøya, about southwest of the village of Andenes
is the administrative centre of Andøy Municip ...
, and
Risøyhamn
Risøyhamn is a village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern part of the island of Andøya. The island of Andøya is connected to the neighboring island of Hinnøya by the Andøy Bridge at ...
.
The island has an area of , making it the
tenth largest island in Norway. The island is connected to the neighboring island of
Hinnøya
Hinnøya is the fourth-largest island in Norway, and the largest outside the Svalbard archipelago. The lies just off the western coast of Northern Norway. The island sits on the border of Nordland and Troms og Finnmark counties. The western ...
via the
Andøy Bridge
The Andøy Bridge ( no, Andøybrua) is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Risøysundet strait between the islands of Andøya and Hinnøya in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The northern end of the bridge is located in th ...
. The
Andfjorden
Andfjorden is a fjord on the border of Nordland and Troms og Finnmark counties in Norway. It primarily flows between the large islands of Andøya and Senja. Grytøya and the smaller islands Bjarkøya and Krøttøya are located in the fjord. Th ...
lies to the east of the island, the
Risøysundet
Risøysundet is a strait between the islands of Andøya and Hinnøya in the Vesterålen archipelago in Norway. It is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county. The long strait has only one road crossing: the Andøy Bridge as part of th ...
strait lies to the south and east side of the island, and the
Gavlfjorden
Gavlfjorden is a fjord (more accurately, a sound) in Nordland county, Norway. The long fjord separates the large islands of Langøya and Andøya in the Vesterålen archipelago and it runs along the border of three municipalities: Øksnes, Andø ...
lies to the southwest side. The
Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea ( no, Norskehavet; is, Noregshaf; fo, Norskahavið) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to ...
lies to the west and north.
The numerous
bog areas on Andøya are used for the extensive production of
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...
. Andøya is also well known for its
cloudberries. Besides the flat and largely continuous bog areas, Andøya also consists of steep mountain ranges reaching up to high. The sharp peak of
Kvasstinden
Kvasstinden is the highest mountain on the island of Andøya in the Vesterålen archipelago in northern Norway. It is located in the southern part of Andøy Municipality in Nordland
Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, No ...
is the highest point on the island at .
Andøya Space, which was founded in 1962, is also located on the island near the
Andøya Air Station.
Important Bird Area
A 10,000 ha area comprising low-lying boggy ground in central Andøya, along with a stretch of the eastern coast and the lake of
Skogvollvatnet on the west coast, has been designated an
Important Bird Area (IBA) by
BirdLife International (BLI) because it supports several thousand
barnacle and
pinkfooted geese on
passage migration, as well as about ten breeding pairs of
Eurasian curlew
The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred ...
s. Protected areas within or overlapping the site include the Skogvoll, Risøysundet, and Åholmen
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
s and the Skogvoll and Risøysundet
Ramsar sites.
Media gallery
16_To_Risøyhamn_(5657438989).jpg, Winter view near Risøyhamn
Andoya3.JPG, View of Ånes and Å (closest to the sea)
Andøy Bridge.jpg, Andøy Bridge linking Andøya to Hinnøya island
Andoya2.jpg, View of the mountains and bogs
BleikRaisedBeach&Platform.JPG, View of Bleik
Bleik is a fishing village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the northwestern part of the island of Andøya, about southwest of the village of Andenes
is the administrative centre of Andøy Municip ...
References
External links
*
Andøy
Vesterålen
Important Bird Areas of Norway
Important Bird Areas of Arctic islands
Nature reserves in Norway
Ramsar sites in Norway
{{Nordland-island-stub