Vågsøya
| Vågsøya | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | European Arctic Ocean | |
| Geographical location | 61 ° 58 ′ N , 5 ° 6 ′ E | |
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| length | 12.5 km | |
| width | 9.5 km | |
| surface | 59.1 km² | |
| Highest elevation | Veten 613 moh. |
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| main place | Måloy | |
Vågsøya is an inhabited island off the west coast of Norway . It belongs administratively to the municipality of Kinn in the province of Vestland .
geography
The island is 12.5 km long and up to 9.5 km wide and has an area of 59.1 km². It lies between the mouth of the Nordfjord in the south and the large bay of Sildegap in the north. It is separated from the mainland by the Ulvesund , which runs south from the Sildegap to the Vågsfjord , the northern branch of the Nordfjord. The islands Silda , Barmoya and Selja are to the east in the Sildegap between Vågsøya and the peninsula Stadlandet . The closest neighbor to the south is Husevågøy in the middle of the Nordfjord estuary. In the west lies the European Arctic Ocean .
The island is very mountainous; the highest point is the Veten in the south, 613 meters above sea level. In the west and north it is deeply cut by two bays , the Kvalheimsvika with the Torskanger pollen in the west and the Refvika in the north. In the northeast part of the island, about 800 m west of Raudeberg, is the Refvikvatn, a 1.5 km long and up to 400 m wide lake at almost sea level in the midst of steep mountains rising to over 400 m. The village of Refvik with its fine, 650 m long sandy beach is located at the inner end of Refvika Bay in the 1 km long and 500 m wide plain, which is also only a few meters above sea level and runs from the lake to the north-northwest.
Infrastructure, traffic, economy
The largest place on the island is Måløy in the southeast, within the southern entrance to Ulvesund. Måløy has about 3250 inhabitants (2013) and has been a town since 1997. Other villages are Raudeberg at the north end of Ulvesund (667 inhabitants, 2012), Holvik (355 inhabitants, 2012) and Vågsvåg (207 inhabitants, 2012) on the south bank and Kvalheim in the north-west, Refvik in the north and Vedvik in the north-east, the latter with between 100 each and 150 inhabitants. There are also scattered settlements on the Krakenes in the north-west, on the north-east bank near Hals and on the Torskanger pollen in the west. There are two churches on the island, one in Måløy and one in Raudeberg.
These settlements are connected by several provincial roads. From Måløy the Fv 617 runs along the west bank of Ulvesund to Raudeberg at the northern exit of Ulvesund. From there the Fv 602 go to the northeast of the island and then on to Refvik and the Fv 600 in the northwest to almost Cape Kråkenes with the Kråkenes lighthouse . A local road branches off 800 m west of Raudeberg from Fv 600 to the northwest to the north bank of Refvikvatns and on to Refvik. On the south coast, the Fv 601 connects Måløy with Holvika and Vågsvåg; then it continues north to Torskanger pollen and the Kvalheimsvika with the Kannestein, which is popular with tourists .
The island is connected to the mainland by the 1,224 m long Måløybrua (Måløy Bridge) at Måløy. The bridge crosses Måløystraumen, the narrow area at the southern end of Ulvesund, in a long S-curve, and carries state road 15 from the mainland to Måløy. It was opened to traffic in December 1973 and was the longest bridge in Norway at the time.
The Hurtigruten ships call at Måløy as scheduled on their journey north or south and run through Ulvesund, which is protected against northern storms.
Although summer tourism is also important, the main industries are fishing , fish farming and boat building , with centers in Måløy, Raudeberg and Vågsvåg.
Three larger lighthouses secure shipping on the sea side of the island: Kråkenes fyr on Cape Kråkenes in the far northwest of the island, Skongenes fyr on Cape Skongsnes in the far northeast and Hendanes fyr on the west coast on the south side of the entrance to Torskangerpollen.
Footnotes
- ↑ From 1910 to 1964 the island was divided into two parishes: Nord-Vågsøy and Sør-Vågsøy. Raudeberg was the administrative center for North Vågsøy, Maloy for South Vågsøy.