Við Áir
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Við Áir
Við Áir () is a former whaling station on the east coast of Streymoy in the Faroe Islands, near the village Hvalvík. ''Við Áir'' means "by the rivers" (''á'' means "river" or "flood"; ''áir'' is the plural form). Whaling station The whaling station Við Áir, was the last of seven whaling stations to be built in the Faroes, it was built in 1905 and run by the Norwegian company Chr. Salvesen & Co until 1930. They were not unknown in the Faroes, as they had already in 1897 put money into the station in Norðdepil. It is the last of its kind in the Northern Hemisphere, two others remain in the Southern Hemisphere, iAlbany, Australiaand iGrytviken, South Georgia out of a total of 214 such whaling stations worldwide built by Norwegians, only these three remain. In 1936 it was taken over by the Faroese company P/F Sperm, and was rebuilt and modernized a bit, at this point there were only two whaling stations left in the country, Við Áir and Lopra. By this time whale stock ...
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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 islands of Hestur, Koltur and Nólsoy. Geography The island is oblong in shape and stretches roughly in northwest–southeast direction with a length of and a width of around . There are two deeply-indented fjords in the southeast: Kollafjørður and Kaldbaksfjørður. The island is mountainous (average height is 337 meter ), especially in the northwest, with the highest peak being Kopsenni (). That area is dominated by over cliffs. The area is known as Vestmannabjørgini, which means Cliffs of Vestmanna. The beaches of Tórshavn, Vestmanna, Leynar, Kollafjørður, Hvalvík (meaning Whale Bay) and Tjørnuvík are officially approved ''grind'' beaches for whaling. Like the rest of the Faroe Islands there are numerous short ...
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ...
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Humpback Whale
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins and tubercles on its head. It is known for Cetacean surfacing behaviour, breaching and other distinctive surface behaviors, making it popular with whale watching, whale watchers. Males produce a complex Whale sound, song that typically lasts from 4 to 33 minutes. Found in oceans and list of seas, seas around the world, humpback whales typically animal migration, migrate between feeding areas towards the poles and breeding areas near the equator. They feed in Polar region, polar waters and migrate to tropics, tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth. Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish, and they usually Bubble-net feeding, use bubbles to c ...
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Blue Whale
The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can be of various shades of greyish-blue on its upper surface and somewhat lighter underneath. Four subspecies are recognized: ''B. m. musculus'' in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, ''B. m. intermedia'' in the Southern Ocean, ''B. m. brevicauda'' (the pygmy blue whale) in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, and ''B. m. indica'' in the Northern Indian Ocean. There is a population in the waters off Chile that may constitute a fifth subspecies. In general, blue whale populations migrate between their summer feeding areas near the poles and their winter breeding grounds near the tropics. There is also evidence of year-round residencies, and partial or age/sex-based migration. Blue whales are filter feeders; their diet consists almost ...
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Minke Whale
The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish naturalist Otto Fabricius in 1780, who assumed it must be an already known species and assigned his specimen to ''Balaena rostrata'', a name given to the northern bottlenose whale by Otto Friedrich Müller in 1776. In 1804, Bernard Germain de Lacépède described a juvenile specimen of ''Balaenoptera acuto-rostrata''. The name is a partial translation of Norwegian language, Norwegian ''minkehval'', possibly after a Norwegian whaler named Meincke, who mistook a northern minke whale for a blue whale. Taxonomy Most modern classifications split the minke whale into two species: *Common minke whale or northern minke whale (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata''), and *Antarctic minke whale or southern minke whale (''Balaenoptera bonaerensis''). Taxono ...
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Sei Whale
The sei whale ( , ; ''Balaenoptera borealis'') is a baleen whale. It is one of ten rorqual species, and the third-largest member after the blue and fin whales. It can grow to in length and weigh as much as . Two subspecies are recognized: ''B. b. borealis'' and ''B. b. schlegelii''. The whale's ventral surface has sporadic markings ranging from light grey to white, and its body is usually dark steel grey in colour. It is among the fastest of all cetaceans, and can reach speeds of up to over short distances.  It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical waters and semi-enclosed bodies of water. The sei whale migrates annually from cool, subpolar waters in summer to temperate, subtropical waters in winter with a lifespan of 70 years. It is a filter feeder, with its diet consisting primarily of  copepods, krill, and other zooplankton. It is typically solitary or can be found in groups numbering half a dozen ...
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Sperm Whale
The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale superfamily Physeteroidea, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus ''Kogia''. The sperm whale is a pelagic mammal with a worldwide range, and will migrate seasonally for feeding and breeding. Females and young males live together in groups, while mature males (bulls) live solitary lives outside of the mating season. The females cooperate to protect and Lactation, nurse their young. Females give birth every four to twenty years, and care for the calves for more than a decade. A mature, healthy sperm whale has no natural predators, although calves and weakened adults are sometimes killed by Cetacea#Social relations, pods of killer whales (orcas). Mature males average in length, with the head represent ...
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Fin Whale
The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as the finback whale or common rorqual, is a species of baleen whale and the second-longest cetacean after the blue whale. The biggest individual reportedly measured in length, with a maximum recorded weight of . The fin whale's body is long, slender and brownish-gray in color, with a paler underside to appear less conspicuous from below (countershading). At least two recognized subspecies exist, one in the North Atlantic and one across the Southern Hemisphere. It is found in all the major oceans, from  polar to tropical waters, though it is absent only from waters close to the  pack ice at the poles and relatively small areas of water away from the open ocean. The highest population density occurs in temperate and cool waters. Its prey mainly consists of smaller schooling fish, small squid, or crustaceans, including copepods and krill. Mating takes place in temperate, low-latitude seas during the win ...
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Whale Oil
Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train-oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tear drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil used in the cavities of sperm whales, differs chemically from ordinary whale oil: it is composed mostly of liquid wax. Its properties and applications differ from those of detergentized whale oil, and it was sold for a higher price. Source and use Emerging industrial societies used whale oil in oil lamps and to Soap#History, make soap. In the 20th century it was made into margarine. There is a misconception that commercial development of the petroleum industry and vegetable oils saved whales from extinction. In fact, the development of petroleum accelerated the whaling industry, which peaked in the 1960s. In the 21st century, with most countries having banned whaling, the sale and use of whale oil has practically ceased. Whale oil was obtained by boiling strips of blubber ha ...
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Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for separating the New World of the Americas (North America and South America) from the Old World of Afro-Eurasia (Africa, Asia, and Europe). Through its separation of Afro-Eurasia from the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean has played a central role in the development of human society, globalization, and the histories of many nations. While the Norse colonization of North America, Norse were the first known humans to cross the Atlantic, it was the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492 that proved to be the most consequential. Columbus's expedition ushered in an Age of Discovery, age of exploration and colonization of the Americas by European powers, most notably Portuguese Empire, Portugal, Spanish Empire, Sp ...
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Sunda, Faroe Islands
Sunda is a municipality in the Faroe Islands, loosely centered around the Sundini sound between the islands of Streymoy and Eysturoy. History Sunda is an amalgamation of the former municipalities of Hósvíkar, Hvalvíkar, Saksunar, Haldarsvíkar, (former) Sunda and Gjáar kommuna, which merged in 2005. The mayor as of 2020 is Heðin Zachariasen, who was also the first mayor, from 2005 to 2009. Geography The region in which Sunda kommuna is situated is referred to as Sundalagið, centered around the Sundini (''The Narrows'') between the islands of Streymoy and Eysturoy. The region also includes Eiðis kommuna, while strictly speaking Gjógv does not belong to Sundalagið, though is part of Sunda kommuna. The villages Selatrað, Morskranes and Kolbeinagjógv are also situated on the Sundini but not considered part of Sundalagið region. Sunda kommuna contains the following villages: *Hósvík *Norðskáli *Hvalvík * Streymnes * Haldórsvík * Oyri * Oyrarbakki *Tjørnuvík *G ...
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Lopra
Lopra () is a village on the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands, with the postal code FO 926. It is located in the Municipality of Sumba along with the villages of Akrar, Sumba and Víkarbyrgi (now deserted), constituting the southernmost settlements in the Faroe Islands. The name Lopra may have its origin in the gaelic word "lobar" which translates into English as leprosy, and Lopra may be a pre-Norse settlement of Gaelic hermits from c. 6th to c. 8th century AD. During the 1980s and 1990s there were attempts at drilling for oil and gas in Lopra, without success. Lopranseiði and Lopransholmur Lopranseiði and Lopransholmur are beautiful sights near Lopra. Turn left just before you enter the village, if you come from Vágur, and go by foot towards west. Be careful not to fall over the edge, when you come to Loprans Eiði. From Lopranseiði you can see Beinisvørð towards south and almost half of the west coast of Suðuroy. Westerbeek went shipwreck south of Lo ...
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