or
is a large
island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
in
Finnmark
Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...
county, in the extreme northern part of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. The island lies along the
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...
in
Nordkapp Municipality
Nordkapp (; or ; or ) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Honningsvåg, where most residents live. Other settlements in Nordkapp include the villages of Gjesvær, Kåfjor ...
, just north of the
Porsanger Peninsula. The mouth of
Porsangerfjorden lies off the east coast of the island.
Magerøya has an area of and the highest elevation on the island is the mountain Gråkallfjellet. The most northern point on the island is also the northernmost point in Norway outside of
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
and
Bjørnøya:
Knivskjellodden. The island features a bleak, barren, tundra-covered landscape devoid of any trees (except for a few small pockets of mountain
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...
), with steep cliffs along the coast, and dramatic mountainscapes in the interior. On southern Magerøya, archaeologists have found evidence of settlements dating back 10,000 years.
Due to its location inside the Arctic Circle, the Sun does not set from mid-May to late July and does not rise from mid-November to late January.
Places on Magerøya
The main population centre on the island is the town of
Honningsvåg
Honningsvåg is the northernmost cities and towns, northernmost city/town in mainland Norway. It is located in Nordkapp Municipality in Finnmark county. Honningsvåg was declared a city in 1996, despite its small population. The town has a po ...
. Other smaller settlements include the fishing villages of
Gjesvær,
Skarsvåg,
Nordvågen, and
Kamøyvær
Kamøyvær is a fishing village in Nordkapp Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The village lies along the Kamøyfjorden on the east side of the island of Magerøya, about northwest of the town of Honningsvåg. It sits at the end of a cul-de ...
.
North Cape is a very popular tourist attraction on the northern shore of the island.
Transportation
Magerøya's main claim to fame is the
North Cape, a steep cliff cape on the northern coast that is a major
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural beaut ...
. To accommodate the large numbers of tourists that visit the island, a subsea
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
was built from 1993 to 1999. The
North Cape Tunnel is part of the
European route E69
European route E69 is an European Route, E-road between Olderfjord and North Cape, Norway, North Cape in northern Norway. The road is long. It contains five tunnels, totalling . The longest, the North Cape Tunnel, is long and reaches below s ...
highway. It is long and reaches a depth of below sea level. For a time, it was one of the longest and deepest subsea tunnels in the world. Fog or ice may occur inside the tunnel, even in summer.
Norway's
Hurtigruten ferry service stops at the town of
Honningsvåg
Honningsvåg is the northernmost cities and towns, northernmost city/town in mainland Norway. It is located in Nordkapp Municipality in Finnmark county. Honningsvåg was declared a city in 1996, despite its small population. The town has a po ...
on Magerøya since the waters around the island remain ice-free all year round due to the warm
North Atlantic drift.
Honningsvåg Airport is located on the eastern part of the island.
Media gallery
Mageroya E-69 road.jpg, View from
Tunel na wyspe Mageroya.jpg, North Cape Tunnel entrance
Nordkapp Skarsvåg.JPG, Skarsvåg village with some of the world's northernmost trees
Tufjorden.JPG, Tiny village of Tufjorden
See also
*
List of islands of Norway
This is a list of islands of Norway sorted by name. For a list sorted by area, see List of islands of Norway by area.
A
* Alden
* Aldra
* Algrøy
* Alsta
* Altra
* Anda
* Andabeløya
* Andørja
* Andøya, Vesterålen
* Andøya, Agder ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mageroeya
Islands of Finnmark
Islands of the Barents Sea
Nordkapp