Vestvågøya

Vestvågøya (or less-commonly: Vest-Vågøy)^[2] 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 Flakstadøya to the southwest. There are also several small islands and skerries surrounding the island. Vestvågøya makes up over 97% of the municipal area and about 99% of the inhabitants of the municipality live on the island. The European route E10 highway crosses the island connecting to Flakstadøya by the Nappstraum Tunnel and to Gimsøya by the Sundklakkstraumen Bridge.^[1]

Eggum, northern part of the island

Vestvågøya

Geography
Location	Nordland, Norway
Coordinates	68.2114°N 13.5566°E / 68.2114; 13.5566
Archipelago	Lofoten
Area	411 km2 (159 sq mi)
Length	37 km (23 mi)
Width	21 km (13 mi)
Highest elevation	964 m (3163 ft)
Highest point	Himmeltindan
Administration
Norway
County	Nordland
Municipality	Vestvågøy Municipality
Demographics
Population	10,670[1] (2016)
Pop. density	26/km2 (67/sq mi)

The middle part of the island is relatively flat and marshy, while the outer parts in the north and south are mountainous. The highest point on the island is the 964-metre (3,163 ft) tall mountain Himmeltindan. The flat parts of the island are largely agricultural land. There is one town on the island (Leknes) and several large villages on the island including Stamsund, Ballstad, and Gravdal.

In Vestvågøya mountains have steep slopes towards the open sea in the northwest and southeast while slopes pointing towards the interior of the island are more gentle. This is the result of erosion acting on a landscape that has been uplifted along southwest-northwest-trending faults in the margins of Lofoten while the interior axis has remained more stable.^[3]

Stamsund in May

See also

• List of islands of Norway

References

1. Store norske leksikon. "Vestvågøy – øy" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2012-06-22.
2. "Informasjon om stadnamn". Norgeskart (in Norwegian). Kartverket. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
3. Bergh, Steffen G.; Liland, Kristian H.; Corner, Geoffred D.; Henningsen, Tormod; Lundekvam, Petter A. (2018). "Fault-controlled asymmetric landscapes and low-relief surfaces on Vestvågøya, Lofoten, North Norway: inherited Mesozoic rift-margin structures?" (PDF). Norwegian Journal of Geology. 98 (4). Retrieved January 29, 2019.