Sandoy | |
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 Island of Sandoy seen from a helicopter. | |
 Location within the Faroe Islands | |
| Coordinates:61°51′N6°47′W / 61.850°N 6.783°W /61.850; -6.783 | |
| State | Kingdom of Denmark |
| Autonomous country | Faroe Islands |
| Region | Sandoy |
| Area | |
• Total | 125 km2 (48 sq mi) |
| Population (01-2020) | |
• Total | 1,231[1] |
| • Density | 9.85/km2 (25.5/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (EST) |
| Calling code | 298 |
Sandoy ("Sand Island") is the first of the five southern islands that make up the Faroe chain, the fifth biggest of all theFaroe Islands,[2] an autonomous region of theKingdom of Denmark. It also refers to theregion that includes this island along withSkúvoy andStóra Dímun. As of January 2020[update], the largest population centre on the island is the village ofSandur with a population of 532.[3] Other settlements includeSkarvanes,Skopun,Skálavík,Húsavík andDalur.
Sandoy gets its name from the large beach atSandur, and the general sandy soil of the island. It is the only island withdunes.
There are similarly named islands,Sanday in theOrkney Islands,Sanday in theInner Hebrides andSandøy in Norway.
TheSandoyartunnilin connects between the centre of the island andGamlarætt onStreymoy. Construction started in 2019 and the tunnel opened for traffic on 21 December 2023.[4]
The island is considered the best island foragriculture due to its fertile sandy soil. The largest potato farm in the country is located on the island. And people who have gardening interests have generally an easier time getting plants to grow here.
On 19 August 2015 the agricultural union "Veltan" was founded for people who have an interest in gardening and farming, their aim is to improve conditions for a self-sustaining way of life, and agricultural businesses.
The island supports 6,878 sheep, not including lambs. There are twogrind beaches used for whaling, inHúsavík andSandur.
The island's surroundingbird cliffs and steep slopes have been identified as anImportant Bird Area (IBA) byBirdLife International because of their significance as a breeding site forseabirds, especiallynorthern fulmars (50,000 pairs),Manx shearwaters (5000 pairs),European storm petrels (50,000 pairs),European shags (150 pairs),great skuas (15 pairs),Atlantic puffins (70,000 pairs) andblack guillemots (400 pairs).[5] An additional IBA on the island comprises the lowland areas around the village ofSandur, with theirmoorland andpeatbogs, and the lakes Gróthúsvatn, Lítlavatn, Sandsvatn and Stóravatn, because they support 100-150 breeding pairs ofEurasian whimbrels.[6]
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Sandoyar travel guide from Wikivoyage
The dictionary definition ofSandoy at Wiktionary
Media related toSandoy at Wikimedia CommonsIslands of theFaroe Islands | ||
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 Denmark |
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