Sandoy ("Sand Island") is the first of the five southern islands that make up the Faroe chain, the fifth biggest of all the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, an autonomous region of the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denma ...

. It also refers to the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

that includes this island along with Skúvoy and

Stóra Dímun Stóra Dímun ( da, Stor Dímun) is an island in the southern Faroe Islands, sometimes only referred to as Dímun. It is accessible by sea only during periods of clear and calm weather, but there is a regular helicopter service twice a week all ye ...

. , the largest population centre on the island is the village of Sandur with a population of 532. Other settlements include Skarvanes, Skopun, Skálavík,

Húsavík Húsavík () is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the north coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,307 inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsavík is ...

and Dalur. Sandoy gets its name from the large beach at Sandur, and the general sandy soil of the island. It is the only island with

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s. There are similarly named islands, Sanday in the

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

Islands, Sanday in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whi ...

and Sandøy in Norway. At present the Sandoyartunnilin is being constructed between the centre of the island and the port of

Gamlarætt Gamlarætt is a ferry port in the Faroe Islands. It is situated on the southwestern side of the island of Streymoy, the largest island in the Faroes, between the villages of Velbastaður and Kirkjubøur. It accommodates ferry services to the isl ...

Streymoy Streymoy ( da, Strømø) is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn, is located on its southeast coast. The name means "island of currents". It also refers to the largest region of the country that also i ...

. Construction started in 2019 and is not expected to be finished before 2023.

Agriculture

The island is considered the best island for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

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 two ''grind'' beaches used for whaling, in

and Sandur.

Important Bird Areas

The island's surrounding

bird cliff Bird cliffs, or nesting cliffs, are steep cliffs with numerous small shelves which serve as nesting locations for bird colonies. Bird cliffs are found on islands in the North Atlantic and Arctic, such as the Faroe Islands, Iceland, the Svalbar ...

s and steep slopes have been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Inte ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because of their significance as a breeding site for

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envir ...

s, especially

northern fulmar The northern fulmar (''Fulmarus glacialis''), fulmar, or Arctic fulmar is a highly abundant seabird found primarily in subarctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. There has been one confirmed sighting in the Southern Hem ...

s (50,000 pairs),

Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is a ...

s (5000 pairs),

European storm petrel The European storm petrel, British storm petrel, or just storm petrel (''Hydrobates pelagicus'') is a seabird in the northern storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The small, square-tailed bird is entirely black except for a broad, white rump and ...

s (50,000 pairs),

European shag The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mai ...

s (150 pairs),

great skua The great skua (''Stercorarius skua''), sometimes known by the name bonxie in Britain, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is roughly the size of a herring gull. It mainly eats fish caught at the sea surface or taken fr ...

s (15 pairs),

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin is found in the northeastern ...

s (70,000 pairs) and

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

s (400 pairs). An additional IBA on the island comprises the lowland areas around the village of Sandur, with their

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generall ...

and

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and ...

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s, and the lakes Gróthúsvatn, Lítlavatn, Sandsvatn and Stóravatn, because they support 100-150 breeding pairs of

Eurasian whimbrel The Eurasian whimbrel or common whimbrel (''Numenius phaeopus'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Asia and Europe as far south as Scotland. This speci ...

s.BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Vøtnini á Sandoy (Lakes of Sandoy). Downloaded fro
Birdlife.org
on 2012-02-23.

Gallery

File:Skarvanes, Faroe Islands.JPG, Skarvanes File:Sandsvatn a Lake on Sandoy in the Faroe Islands.JPG, The lake Sandsvatn is the largest on the island and the third largest in the Faroe Islands. File:Húsavík, Faroe Islands (2).JPG, Húsavík, Faroe Islands File:Skopun (2).JPG, Skopun File:Skalavik Sandoy Faroe Islands in July 2012.JPG, Skálavík File:Dalur, Faroe Islands.JPG, Dalur

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Islands of the Faroe Islands Important Bird Areas of the Faroe Islands

Agriculture

Important Bird Areas

See also

Further reading

Gallery

References

External links