Hinnøya ( Norwegian; ) is the fourth-largest island in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and the largest outside the

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

archipelago. The lies just off the western coast of

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

. The island sits on the border of

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

and

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

counties. The western part of the island is in the district of Vesterålen, the southwestern part is in the

Lofoten Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. T ...

district, the southeastern part is in the

Ofoten Ofoten is a districts of Norway, traditional district in Nordland county in Northern Norway. It consists of Evenes Municipality, Narvik Municipality, and Lødingen Municipality. It is named after the main fjord, Ofotfjorden, which is at the cent ...

district, and the northeastern part is in

. , Hinnøya had a population of 32,688. The only town on the island is the town of Harstad. Some of the larger villages include Borkenes, Lødingen, Sigerfjord, and Sørvik. The island is split between several municipalities:

Harstad Harstad may refer to: Places *Harstad (town) Harstad (; ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is also the administrative centre of Harstad Municipality. The city has a populati ...

, Tjeldsund and Kvæfjord in

county, as well as Andøy, Hadsel, Lødingen,

Sortland Sortland may refer to: Places *Sortland Municipality, a municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Sortland (town), a town within Sortland Municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Sortland Church, a church in the town of Sortland in Sortland Municipa ...

, and

Vågan Vågan or Vaagan may refer to: People *Eldar Vågan, a songwriter and guitarist in the band Vazelina Bilopphøggers *Ole Morten Vågan, a Norwegian jazz musician and composer *Petter Vågan, a bandleader, singer, and guitarist of the Norwegian indi ...

county.

Etymology

The

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

form of the name was just ''Hinn'' (the suffix ''-øya'' meaning "the island" was added later). The large island is almost divided in two parts by the Gullesfjorden and Øksfjorden, and the old name is probably derived from an old verb with the meaning "cleave", "split", or "cut".

Transportation

Hinnøya is connected to the mainland by the Tjeldsund Bridge across the

Tjeldsundet Tjeldsundet ( Norwegian; ) is a strait in Northern Norway. The long strait is located between the island of Hinnøya and mainland Norway in its northern part and between Hinnøya and the island of Tjeldøya in its southern part. Tjeldsundet has ...

strait. To the west, it is connected to the island of

Langøya Langøya is the third largest island of Norway (outside of Svalbard), with an area of . The island is a part of the Vesterålen archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. The island includes Bø Municipality and Øksnes Municipality as well as pa ...

by the

Sortland Bridge The Sortland Bridge () is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Sortlandssundet strait between the village of Strand, Nordland, Strand on Hinnøya island and the Sortland (town), town of Sortland on Langøya island. It is located within Sortla ...

, and to the northwest to the island of

Andøya , , or is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about inside the Arctic Circle. Andøya is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The main population centres on the island include the villages of ...

by the

Andøy Bridge The Andøy Bridge () 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 the village of Risøy ...

. It is connected to the

islands by the

Lofoten mainland connection Lofoten Mainland Connection () or Lofast is a part of European route E10 that connects the Norway, Norwegian archipelago of Lofoten to the mainland, giving direct access to Lofoten from the surrounding municipalities. The construction of this road ...

which opened on 1 December 2007. That connection is part of the

European Route E10 European route E10 is the second shortest Class A road which is part of the International E-road network. It begins in Å, Norway, and ends in Luleå, Sweden. The road is about in length. The Norwegian part of the road is also named Kong Ol ...

highway. The highway runs near Møysalen National Park. There is also a ferry connection in the southeast between the village of Lødingen and the village of

Bognes or is a ferry port in Hamarøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the outer part of the Tysfjorden on the western side of the fjord. The port is located about south of the village of Korsnes and about north of the vill ...

on the mainland, crossing the

Vestfjorden Vestfjorden (; sometimes shortened to ''Vestfjord'' in English) is a long fjord or oceanic sea in Nordland county, Norway. The name literally means "the west fjord", although it is called a fjord, it could best be described as a firth or an op ...

Geography

Hinnøya is dissected by several

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

s, and two very long ones, Gullesfjorden in the northeast and Øksfjorden in the southwest, almost sever the island in half. There is a

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

between innermost parts of the two fjords.

sound divides Hinnøya from the mainland and from Tjeldøya; the narrow

Raftsundet or is a strait in Nordland county, Norway. The long strait runs between the islands of Hinnøya and Austvågøya, mostly in Hadsel Municipality, but the southern end is in Vågan Municipality. The strait is crossed by the Raftsund Bridge near ...

strait divides Hinnøya from

Austvågøya Austvågøya is the northeasternmost and largest of the larger islands in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located between the Vestfjorden and the Norwegian Sea. The island of Vestvågøya lies to the southwest and the ...

and between Hinnøya and

goes Risøyrenna strait. The island contains a mostly rugged and mountainous terrain, especially the southern part. There are also valleys and lakes, the largest lake is Storvatnet at 6,67 km². The

treeline The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

lies close to 400 m above sea level, but varies from 250 m to nearly 500 m above sea level. The best agricultural area is in the northeast, in Harstad and Kvæfjord Municipalities. The southern part is the location of

Møysalen National Park Møysalen National Park () is a national park located on the island of Hinnøya in Nordland county, Norway. The park was established in 2003 to preserve undisturbed coastal alpine landscape. The scenery is characterized by peaks jutting out of ...

, which includes the highest mountain on the island, the tall Møysalen. In the northwestern part of the island, near the village of Forfjord, there is a nature reserve containing a valley with forests and bogs, including the oldest pine trees in Norway, more than 700 years old.

Climate

The climate of the southern coast of the island is warmer and wetter in winter than the northern coast. Harstad, situated on the northern part of Hinnøya, has all-time high recorded July 2014, and record low recorded in February 2010.

References

External links