Bjørnøya (''Bear Island'') is a populated island in Ålesund Municipality in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

county, Norway. It lies in the Vigrafjorden, between the island of Vigra to the west and the Norwegian mainland to the east. It is connected to the Norwegian mainland through a man-made

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

. The nearest larger village on the mainland is Søvik. To the east of the Bjørnøya (between Bjørnøya and Søvik) lies the island of Terøya. The two islands are separated by the Bjørnøysundet. The island was part of the former municipality of Borgund until 1965 when it joined Haram Municipality. In 2020, it became part of Ålesund Municipality. There are several hamlets on the island, the notable ones among them are Bjørnøya and Fagerheim. The children on the island are served by the school in Søvik, just to the southeast. The highest point on Bjørnøya is the tall ''Bjørnøyfjellet''. A marked path leads up to the top. Another moderately-high peak on the central-north part of the island rises to elevation of . Other attractions on the island include the Bjørnøya coastal fort (''Bjørnøya Kystfort'') in the south. There are also beaches, forests, and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

(''Tangane'') in the northeast part of the island. The municipality of Haram had plans to develop two preserves on the island: one preserving shores and the other preserving the wetlands.

References

External links

Visit of the Bjørnøya coastal Fjord

Visit of Bjørnøya's coastArticle on the crabs of Bjørnøya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjornoya, Haram Ålesund Islands of Møre og Romsdal