Gimsøya is an island in

Vågan Municipality Vågan ( sme, Vuogát) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Svolvær. Some of the villages in Vågan include Digermulen, ...

in Nordland county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. Gimsøya is situated between the islands of Austvågøya and

Vestvågøya Vestvågøya or Vest-Vågøy is an island in the Lofoten archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. The island is located within Vestvågøy Municipality. The island lies between the islands of Austvågøya and Gimsøya to the northeast and Flak ...

in the

Lofoten Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolv� ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

. The island has a population (2016) of 181. The

European route E10 European route E10 is the second shortest Class A road which is part of the International E-road network. It begins in Å, Norway and ends in Luleå, Sweden. The road is about 850 km (530 mi) in length. The Norwegian part of the ...

highway passes through Gimsøya linking the island to Austvågøya by the Gimsøystraumen Bridge and to the island of

by the Sundklakkstraumen Bridge. The main population centres on Gimsøya include Vinje (where Gimsøy Elementary school is located), Hov (where the golf course is located), Hovsund (where the marina and the abandoned fish factory is located), Barstrand (where some fishing industry is located), Gimsøysand (where Gimsøy Church is located), and Årrstranda. Historically, the island made up a large part of the old Gimsøy Municipality which existed from 1856 until its dissolution in 1964.

Geography

The southern and eastern part of Gimsøya is mountainous. The highest point is the tall Svarttinden (next to Bardstrandfjellet). In the north and west, the island is flat and

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

y, with the exception of the tall Hoven mountain. There are large protected areas in Gimsøya related to

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

and bird life. "Gimsøy marshes nature reserve" () is located on the island.

Beaches

The north-facing part of Gimsøy has great views of the open ocean, and is a popular place to watch the midnight sun. Both Hovstranda (Hov beach) by the camping site, Vinjestranda (Vinje beach) by Gimsøy landhandel (grocery store) and the smaller beaches are good places to see the midnight sun.

Media gallery

File:Sundklakkstraumen Bridge Lofoten 2009 - 2.JPG, Sundklakkstraumen Bridge File:Gimsoystraumen Bridge Lofoten 2009.JPG, Gimsøystraumen Bridge File:Gimsoy kirke.jpg, Gimsøy Church at Gimsøysand File:Abandoned house in Gimsøysand, Gimsøy Island, Lofoten, Norway.JPG, Abandoned house in Gimsøysand File:Shop and gas station on Gimsoy, Lofoten, Norway.jpg, Shop and gas station on Gimsøya

References

External links

Midnight Sun on GimsøyaGimsøy Landhandel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gimsoya Vågan Islands of Nordland