Langøya is the third largest island of Norway (outside of Svalbard), with an area of . The island is a part of the

Vesterålen Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the archipel ...

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 Archi ...

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, ...

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 t ...

. The island includes the municipalities of Bø and Øksnes as well as parts of the municipalities of Sortland and

Hadsel Hadsel ( sme, Válafierda) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stokmarknes. Other villages in Hadsel include Fiskeb� ...

Geography

Langøya is mountainous, with mountains reaching 400 - 700 meter above sea level, the highest is Snykolla (763 m). There are also lowland near the coasts around the island, and in some valleys, some of it is

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. The treeline is around 300 meter above sea level on Langøya. The total population on the island is 15,600 and the largest population center is Sortland (pop 5,487), another town is Myre. Langøya has been settled since the stone age. The larger island Hinnøya lies to the east (on the other side of the

Sortlandssundet Sortlandsundet or Sortlandssundet ( en, Sortland Sound''Norges Geologiske Undersøkelse'' no. 212. 1983. Trondheim: Norges Geologiske Undersokelse, p. 6.) is a strait or sound in Sortland Municipality in Nordland county, Norway Norway ...

). The island of

Andøya Andøya is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about inside the Arctic circle. Andøya is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The main population centres on the island include the villages ...

lies to the northeast. The small island of Skogsøya lies to the northwest. The island of

Hadseløya Hadseløya or Hadseløy is an island in Hadsel Municipality in Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 co ...

lies to the south. The 69th parallel north crosses Langøya, as does the 15th meridian east. Bitterstad_Hallartinden

There are several lakes on the island including Alsvågvatnet. The Eidsfjorden divides the island almost in half. The island has two road bridges connecting it to

and Hinnøya via the Hadsel Bridge and

Sortland Bridge The Sortland Bridge ( no, Sortlandsbrua) is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Sortlandssundet strait between the village of Strand on Hinnøya island and the town of Sortland on Langøya island. It is located within Sortland Municipa ...

Climate

Langøya has a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), with very mild winter for the location north of the Arctic Circle. The warmest temperature recorded on the island by an official weather station is at Kleiva in Sortland municipality in July 2018. The weather station near Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen is located on the southern part of the island and has recorded temperature since June 1972. Data for extremes available since 2004, there might be warmer or colder temperatures recorded before 2004.

Important Bird Area

A tract of some 3000 ha of low-lying land in central and south-eastern coastal Langøya, consisting mainly of grassland and

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal f ...

s, and including the Vikosen

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, has been designated 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 Int ...

(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 ...

(BLI) because it supports populations of several thousand pink-footed and

barnacle geese The barnacle goose (''Branta leucopsis'') is a species of goose that belongs to the genus ''Branta'' of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey ''Anser'' species. Despite its superficial s ...

on passage migration.

Media gallery

Fv915 Nordland c.jpg, The rugged western part of Langøya near

Nykvåg Nykvåg is a fishing village in Bø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is one of the largest fishing villages on the west coast of the large island of Langøya in the Vesterålen archipelago. The village lies along the south side of Nyk ...

. IMG 1578a - Lifjorden.jpg, Lifjorden; many small fjords dissect Langøya Fra Frøskeland mot Ræka - IMG 0316a.jpg, View near Frøskeland towards Ræka mt File:Map-of-Lofoten-and-Vesteraalen.svg, Map of the area

References

Vesterålen Hadsel Sortland Øksnes Bø, Nordland Islands of Nordland Nature reserves in Norway Important Bird Areas of Norway Important Bird Areas of Arctic islands {{Nordland-island-stub