or is an
island in
Ibestad Municipality
Ibestad ( sme, Ivvárstádik) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Central Hålogaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hamnvik. Some of the other la ...
in
Troms og Finnmark county,
Norway. The island lies about east of the
town of Harstad. The island is located entirely within the present-day municipality of
Ibestad, although the island itself was a separate municipality (
Andørja) from 1926 until 1964. The largest population area on Andørja island is the
Ã… -
Ã…nstad -
Laupstad
Laupstad is a village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the island of Austvågøya at the end of the Austnesfjorden, about north of the village of Liland. The European route E10 highway runs through the vill ...
area on the west coast with 205 residents (2001).
is located in
Engenes on the northwestern tip of the island.
Geography
The
VÃ¥gsfjorden lies to the north and west of the island and the
Astafjorden flows along the southeastern coast. The ''Bygda''
strait
A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...
sits between Andørja and the neighboring island of
Rolla to the west and the ''Mjøsundet'' strait sits between Andørja and the Norwegian mainland to the east.
The
Mjøsund Bridge connects Andørja to the mainland (across the Mjøsundet strait) and the
Ibestad Tunnel is an
undersea road tunnel that connects Andørja to Rolla.
The highest point on the island is the tall mountain
Langlitinden. In mainland Norway, this is the highest mountain situated on an island. The long Straumbotn
fjord cuts into the middle of the island from the north side.
Name
The meaning of the name of the island (
Old Norse: ''Andyrja'') is not certain, but one theory is that the first element ''and'' comes from the word for "against" and the second element ''yrja'' means "
gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classifi ...
" or "rocks", possibly referring to the waves from the sea hitting against the rocky shores.
See also
*
List of islands of Norway
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andorja (island)
Ibestad
Islands of Troms og Finnmark