Rødøya or Røøya is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in Alstahaug Municipality 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 island lies at the mouth of the

Vefsnfjorden The Vefsnfjord or Vefsnfjorden is a fjord in the Helgeland traditional district of Nordland county, Norway. It is about long, reaching a maximum depth of about below sea level. The fjord flows through the municipalities of Alstahaug, Leirf ...

and the Halsfjorden. The island is home to 23 people (in 2017), living mostly on the southern part of the island. The island is mountainous, especially in the north where the tall mountain ''Rødøyfjellet'' is located. The island is made up of a red-weathered

serpentinite Serpentinite is a rock composed predominantly of one or more serpentine group minerals, the name originating from the similarity of the texture of the rock to that of the skin of a snake. Serpentinite has been called ''serpentine'' or ''se ...

and chromium. The name of the island literally means "red island" in the

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

, a name that was given because of the red color of the rocks. The island is only accessible by boat and there are car ferry connections to the villages of Stokka and Forvika on the mainland in Vevelstad Municipality. There are also ferry connections to the nearby islands of

Mindlandet Mindlandet is an island in Alstahaug Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island lies at the mouth of the Vefsnfjorden, just south of the islands of Tjøtta and Rødøya. The island is fairly flat, and has a lot of very good agricul ...

(to the west) and Tjøtta (to the north). The ferry service from Vevelstad-Rødøya-Mindlandet-Tjøtta is included as part of the

Norwegian County Road 17 County Road 17 ( no, Fylkesvei 17), also known as the Coastal Highway ( no, Kystriksveien), is a Norwegian highway that runs from the town of Bodø in Nordland county (in the north) to the town of Steinkjer in Trøndelag county (in the south). I ...

, a main highway on the Helgeland coast.

History

Rødøya is known for its approximately 5000-year-old rock carvings showing a

skier Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

, probably the oldest evidence of

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

found anywhere in the world. These are located near the village of Tro on the southern part of the island. These petroglyphs were used as backgrounds during the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

in Lillehammer. These rock carvings were heavily damaged by vandalism carried out two Norwegian youths in 2016.

References

Alstahaug Islands of Nordland {{Nordland-island-stub

History

See also

References