Eysturoy (pronounced estroimeaning 'East Island') is a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

and the second-largest of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, both in size and population.

Description

Eysturoy is separated by a narrow

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

from the main island of

Streymoy Streymoy ( da, Strømø) is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn, is located on its southeast coast. The name means "island of currents". It also refers to the largest region of the country that also i ...

. Eysturoy is extremely rugged, with some 66 separate mountain

peaks Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

, including

Slættaratindur Slættaratindur (English: ''Flat peak'') is the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands, at an elevation of 880 metres. It is located in the northern part of Eysturoy, between the villages of Eiði, Gjógv, and Funningur. Funningur lies at the fo ...

, the highest peak in the

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 Archi ...

at . The country's two longest fjords,

Skálafjørður Skálafjørður ( da, Skålefjord) is a fjord in Eysturoy and the longest in the Faroe Islands. Name Skála is a town situated on the western shore of the fjord. Its name (''Skáli'', genitive case ''skála'') means 'hall', 'assembly hall' or 'i ...

in the south and

Funningsfjørður Funningsfjørður ( da, Fundingsfjord) is a village located at the end of a fjord of the same name ('fjørður' is the Faroese word for 'fjord'). It was founded in 1812 and has since 2005 been part of the municipality of Runavík. Whaling stat ...

in the north, almost split the island in two halves. The isthmus in between, Millum Fjarða, is one of the flattest areas in the country. Important settlements on Eysturoy are

Fuglafjørður Fuglafjørður is a village on Eysturoy's east coast in the Faroe Islands. Its name means "fjord of birds". The village is at the edge of a bay and expands into the surrounding steep hills. The town centre is located close to the harbour and ...

in the north and the densely populated area of the municipalities of

Runavík Runavík is a comparatively urbanised village in Runavík Municipality, Faroe Islands. It lies on the south half of the isle of Eysturoy. Port Founded in 1916, Runavík has an important port, originally used predominantly by fishing boats but n ...

and

Nes The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

in the south. Eysturoy is connected with Streymoy by the

Streymin Bridge The Streymin Bridge ( Faroese: Brúgvin um Streymin; in short Brúgvin), is an important highway bridge in the Faroe Islands. It connects the two biggest and most populous islands of Streymoy to the west and Eysturoy to the east. Crossing the Sun ...

over the Sundini.

Leirvík Leirvík ( da, Lervig) is a town on the Faroe Islands and was an important regional ferry harbour at the east coast of the second-largest island Eysturoy. Leirvík has a population of 1,048 (2022). It was the only town in the municipality of Lei ...

on the east coast of the island is the gateway for transport connections to the north-eastern islands, particularly

Klaksvík Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands behind Tórshavn. The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands (the Norðoyar). It is the administrative centre of Klaksvík municipality. History The first se ...

on the island of

Borðoy Borðoy ( da, Bordø) is an island in the north-east of the Faroe Islands. Its name means 'headland island'. There are eight settlements: Klaksvík (the second largest town in the Faroes), Norðoyri, Ánir, Árnafjørður, Strond, Norðtoftir, ...

, which is the Faroes' second-largest town. In December 2020, the sub-sea

Eysturoyartunnilin The Eysturoyartunnilin (in English the Eysturoy Tunnel, earlier known as the Skálafjarðartunnilin) is a large undersea road tunnel under the Tangafjørður sound in the Faroe Islands, connecting the island of Streymoy to the island of Eysturo ...

(the Eysturoy Tunnel) was opened, creating a direct link between

Strendur Strendur ( da, Strænder) is a village on the Faroe Islands, Faroese island of Eysturoy, located along the Skálafjørður fjord. It is the seat and main settlement of the Sjóvar Municipality. The 2012 population was 785. Its postal code is FO 4 ...

and

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

. Sites of interest on Eysturoy include the villages of

Eiði Eiði (''Northern Faroese'' �ɔiːjɪ) is a village located on the north-west tip of Eysturoy in the Faroe Islands. It is the seat of Eiði Municipality. It is located 4 km north of Ljósá and 6.5 km west of Funningur. History Eiði was first ...

and

Gjógv Gjógv (pronounced , literally: ''gorge'', ''geo'') is a village located on the northeast tip of the island of Eysturoy, in the Faroe Islands and 63 km (39 mi) north by road from the capital of Tórshavn. The village was named after a 2 ...

, the latter having a small natural port in a rock column; the Blásastova historical museum in the village of Gøta; and the ''varmakelda'' (thermal springs) of Fuglafjørður. Off the northern tip of the island are the

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. ...

Risin og Kellingin Risin og Kellingin (Risin and Kellingin) are two sea stacks just off the northern coast of the island of Eysturoy Eysturoy (pronounced estroimeaning 'East Island') is a region and the second-largest of the Faroe Islands, both in size and popul ...

. The town of

Glyvrar Glyvrar ( da, Glibre) is a village located on Eysturoy, in the Faroe Islands. It is one of several villages on the east side of the Skálafjørður fjord that have grown into a 10-kilometre-long conurbation. In Glyvrar there is a museum calle ...

on the eastern coast of Eysturoy is the home-base for

Bakkafrost P/F Bakkafrost () is a Faroese salmon farming company based in Glyvrar on the island of Eysturoy in the Faroe Islands. Bakkafrost is the largest fish farming company in the Faroe Islands, and is the biggest private employer in the islands. Bakk ...

, the largest company in the Faroe Islands. Bakkafrost is the eighth-largest fishing company worldwide. Four out of ten Premier league

football clubs A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

are in Eysturoy: IF (

), NSÍ (

Skála ÍF Skála Ítróttarfelag (Skála ÍF) is a Faroese football club based in Skáli, municipality of Runavík. The club was founded on 15 May 1965. They currently play in the Betrideildin, which is the top football league of the Faroe Islands. Th ...

and Víkingur (

). There are regional rowing festivals in Fuglafjørður (Varmakelda), Runavík (Eystanstevna), and one alternating between Skáli, Strendur and Vestmanna (Fjarðastevna). Accepted ''grind'' beaches are in Fuglafjørður,

, Norðra- and Syðragøta,

Norðskáli Norðskáli is a settlement in the Faroe Islands on the island of Eysturoy, a few kilometres north of Oyri. Its name means ''north dwelling'' and its population is 331. The 226-metre Streymin Bridge crosses Sundini from the island of Streymoy b ...

and

Important Bird Area

The north, north-east, and south-east coasts of the island have been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because of their significance as

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

breeding sites, especially for

Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an ...

s (2500 pairs),

European storm petrel The European storm petrel, British storm petrel, or just storm petrel (''Hydrobates pelagicus'') is a seabird in the northern storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The small, square-tailed bird is entirely black except for a broad, white rump and ...

s (500 pairs) and

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

s (300 pairs).BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Eysturoy. Downloaded from on 2012-02-22.

References

External links

*
Personal website
with 15 aerial photos of Eysturoy {{Authority control Islands of the Faroe Islands Important Bird Areas of the Faroe Islands

Description

Important Bird Area

References

Further reading

External links