Sandoy ("Sand Island") is the first of the five southern islands that make up the Faroe chain, the fifth biggest of all the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

, an autonomous region of the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...

. It also refers to the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

that includes this island along with Skúvoy and Stóra Dímun. , the largest population centre on the island is the village of Sandur with a population of 532. Other settlements include Skarvanes, Skopun, Skálavík,

Húsavík Húsavík () is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the northeast coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,485 inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsav� ...

and Dalur. Sandoy gets its name from the large beach at Sandur, and the general sandy soil of the island. It is the only island with

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s. There are similarly named islands, Sanday in the

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

Islands, Sanday in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides ( ; ) is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides compri ...

and Sandøy in Norway. The

Sandoyartunnilin Sandoyartunnilin () is an undersea tunnel, road tunnel in the Faroe Islands. It connects the main island of Streymoy with Sandoy to the south. The length of the tunnel is , and the estimated cost is 860 million Danish krone, DKK. The tunnel ope ...

connects between the centre of the island and

Gamlarætt Gamlarætt is a ferry port in the Faroe Islands. It is situated on the southwestern side of the island of Streymoy, the largest island in the Faroes, between the villages of Velbastaður and Kirkjubøur. It accommodates ferry services to the islan ...

Streymoy Streymoy (, ) 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 includes the ...

. Construction started in 2019 and the tunnel opened for traffic on 21 December 2023.

Agriculture

The island is considered the best island for

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

due to its fertile sandy soil. The largest potato farm in the country is located on the island. And people who have gardening interests have generally an easier time getting plants to grow here. On 19 August 2015 the agricultural union "Veltan" was founded for people who have an interest in gardening and farming, their aim is to improve conditions for a self-sustaining way of life, and agricultural businesses. The island supports 6,878 sheep, not including lambs. There are two ''grind'' beaches used for whaling, in

and Sandur.

Important Bird Areas

The island's surrounding bird cliffs and steep slopes 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 ...

(IBA) by

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 i ...

because of their significance as a breeding site for

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

s, especially northern fulmars (50,000 pairs),

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 (5000 pairs), European storm petrels (50,000 pairs),

European shag The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, ma ...

s (150 pairs), great skuas (15 pairs),

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family (biology), family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found ...

s (70,000 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 (400 pairs). An additional IBA on the island comprises the lowland areas around the village of Sandur, with their

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

and

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s, and the lakes Gróthúsvatn, Lítlavatn, Sandsvatn and Stóravatn, because they support 100-150 breeding pairs of

Eurasian whimbrel The Eurasian or common whimbrel (''Numenius phaeopus''), also known as the white-rumped whimbrel in North America, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Pal ...

s.BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Vøtnini á Sandoy (Lakes of Sandoy). Downloaded fro
Birdlife.org
on 2012-02-23.

Gallery

File:Skarvanes, Faroe Islands.JPG, Skarvanes File:Sandsvatn a Lake on Sandoy in the Faroe Islands.JPG, The lake Sandsvatn is the largest on the island and the third largest in the Faroe Islands. File:Húsavík, Faroe Islands (2).JPG, Húsavík, Faroe Islands File:Skopun (2).JPG, Skopun File:Skalavik Sandoy Faroe Islands in July 2012.JPG, Skálavík File:Dalur, Faroe Islands.JPG, Dalur

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Islands of the Faroe Islands Important Bird Areas of the Faroe Islands

Agriculture

Important Bird Areas

See also

Further reading

Gallery

References

External links