Krøttøya is an
island
An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...
in
Harstad Municipality
( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogaland ...
in
Troms og Finnmark
Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform ...
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 t ...
. The island is the northernmost inhabited island in the
Andfjorden. It is located in the Meløyvær
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
, consisting of 365 small islands, with over 20 white-sand beaches. Several other islands are connected to Krøttøya by road, but the island group is only accessible by boat. Krøttøy is surrounded by the large islands of
Senja
or is an island in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway, Europe. With an area of , it is the second largest island in Norway (outside of the Svalbard archipelago). It has a wild, mountainous outer (western) side facing the Atlantic, and a mild ...
to the east,
Bjarkøya and
Grytøya
or is an island in Harstad Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The island lies just north of the large island of Hinnøya and south of the island of Bjarkøya. It is surrounded by the Vågsfjorden in the east and the Andfjorde ...
to the south, and
Andøya
Andøya 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 ...
to the west.
Flora and fauna
During the winter season (October–March) large schools of
herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocea ...
arrive in
Andfjorden, followed by
orcas
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pat ...
,
humpback whales
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 u ...
, and
fin whales
The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of cet ...
.
Sperm whales
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 '' Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...
and
pilot whales
Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus ''Globicephala''. The two extant species are the long-finned pilot whale (''G. melas'') and the short-finned pilot whale (''G. macrorhynchus''). The two are not readily distinguishable at sea ...
are encountered all year round.
Attractions and activities
The main attractions are Viking graves and the
Meløyvær fortress which is a national museum. The island was of great strategic importance during the
Cold War thus holding back a possible naval attack of the
Soviet Navy on the supply lines and defence positions of the
Norwegian Army
The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...
in
Northern Norway
Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the la ...
. At full capacity, it had stationed up to 450 soldiers of the Norwegian Army. In 2002 the army left the fort and since then visitors from outside are allowed in the fort without security clearances. Some of the bunkers and military buildings are now privately owned. Valhall, an ex-military summer residence was renovated in 2007 and now serves as a hotel.
The main activities are
whale watching
Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 20 ...
,
sea eagle
A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the genus ''Haliaeetus'' in the bird of prey family Accipitridae.
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus ''Haliaeetus'' ...
safaris, fishing, sea kayaking, and diving.
Gallery
Midnight sun view from the Nordlystoppen.JPG, Midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...
view from the Nordlystoppen
Meløyvær and Krøttøy seen from the Nordlystoppen.JPG, Meløyvær and Krøttøy seen from the Nordlystoppen
Nordlystoppen in summer - Krøttøy.jpg, Nordlystoppen (Kollen) 99m, as seen in summer
A view to the north from the Nordlysveien - Krøttøy.JPG, A view to the north from the Nordlysveien - Krøttøy
A view from Meløya with Andørja in the background.JPG, A view from Meløya with Andørja in the background
Whale observation from Nordlystoppen - Krøttøy.JPG, Whale observation from Nordlystoppen - Krøttøy
Ancient settlement from the Viking Age - Krøttøy.JPG, Ancient settlement from the Viking Age - Krøttøy
Meløyvær Fortress Canon B - Russøya.JPG, Cannon B - Meløyvær Fortress
Transport
Krøttøy is inhabited year-round by a few people and in the summer its population increases dramatically. It is connected daily by a
catamaran operated by
Boreal Transport
Boreal Norge AS (formerly Veolia Transport Norge AS and Connex Norge AS) is a Norwegian public transport operator. Established as a subsidiary of CGEA Transport in 1999, it operates through its subsidiaries buses, ferries and trams in the count ...
with the islands of
Bjarkøya and
Senja
or is an island in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway, Europe. With an area of , it is the second largest island in Norway (outside of the Svalbard archipelago). It has a wild, mountainous outer (western) side facing the Atlantic, and a mild ...
and with the
town of Harstad. There is also a bridge connecting Krøttøya with Meløyvær.
References
External links
Aerial images of Krøttøya and Meløyvær on Panoramio, by Lasse TurValhall
Harstad
Islands of Troms og Finnmark
{{TromsFinnmark-island-stub