Everything about And Y totally explained
Andøy is the northernmost
municipality in the
county of
Nordland,
Norway, and belongs to the
Vesterålen archipelago. The largest island in the municipality is
Andøya.
Andøy was created as a new municipality
January 1,
1964 - after the merger of the old municipalities of
Andenes,
Bjørnskinn and
Dverberg.
The name
The
Norse form of the name was
Andarøy (from
*Amdarøy). The first element is the genitive case of the old uncompounded name of the island:
Ömd, the last element is
øy f 'island'. The meaning of the uncompounded name is unknown.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1983). It shows a
wave.
History
The village of
Andenes has been an important fishing village since the
Iron Age, and today it's the starting point of whale safaris (
whale watching) to see the
sperm whales off the island that migrate here in the summer.
Geography
The municipality of Andøy is spread across
Andøya, the northernmost island in the archipelago of
Vesterålen, and
Hinnøya, the largest and most populous island in Norway. The municipality also consists of smaller skerries like Bleiksøya, Vomma and Stavaøyan.
The bird cliff Bleiksøya, outside of
Bleik, is a spectacular and photogenic landmark outside the Northern part of Andøya, with many species of sea birds including puffin. The midsection of the island consists of
marshes, known for their arctic
cloudberries. The island is also the only place in continental Norway where
coal and fossils from
dinosaurs are to be found. Forfjorddalen nature reserve on Hinnøya has some of the oldest pine trees in Scandinavia, some more than 700 years old.
Business, science and military
Andenes is still a thriving fishing village and enjoys a number of tourists every year.
Andøya Air Station is located next to Andenes. It is the home of 333 Squadron of the
Royal Norwegian Air Force and houses all
P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft in the Norwegian armed forces.
Andøya Rocket Range is a civilian facility for launching sounding rockets, located a few kilometres south of Andenes.
Communication
Hurtigruten stops at
Risøyhamn.
Andøya Airport at Andenes is served by
Widerøe.
During the summer, Andenes is connected to
Gryllefjord on the island of
Senja by ferry.
By car you reach Andøy on Route 82, northbound from
Sortland.
Birdlife
Lying furthest north in the area known as Vesterålen, Andøy is a mixture of vast areas of marshland fens, with a backdrop of high peaked mountains. The coast isn't only famous for its sea bird colonies such as Bleiksøya, you'll also find sheltered bays with white sandy shores. The area has a rich bird life and this is reflected in some good birding localities like Forfjorden Nature Reserve and Skogvoll, the latter a
Ramsar site of international importance.
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'And Y'.
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