Skúvoy
| Skúvoy Skuø | |
|---|---|
| Island | |
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Skúvoy, as seen from Sandoy | |
 Location within the Faroe Islands | |
| Coordinates: 61°46′N 6°49′W / 61.767°N 6.817°W | |
| State |
 Kingdom of Denmark |
| Constituent country |
 Faroe Islands |
| Area | |
| • Total | 10 km2 (4 sq mi) |
| Population (1 January 2006) | |
| • Total | 52 |
| • Density | 5.2/km2 (13/sq mi) |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | WEST (UTC+1) |
| Calling code | 298 |
Skúvoy /ˈskʉuːwɪ/ or Skúgvoy /ˈskɪkvɪ/ (Danish: Skuø) is an island in the central Faroe Islands, located to the south of Sandoy.
It is named after the large number of skua present on the island (who have a habit of attacking intruders). There is only one settlement on the island: Skúvoy on the east coast. There are two mountains: Knúkur (392 m) and Heyggjurin Mikli (391 m).
History
The Black Death in the 14th century killed all the inhabitants except one woman; her cottage can still be seen. Skúvoy was also the home of Sigmundur Brestisson, the hero of the Færeyinga saga (Saga of the Faroese).
Important Bird Area
There are 300–400 m cliffs along the west coast, which are home to many guillemots. Egg harvesting takes place in early June, though this occurs in the first week only so as to allow the guillemots to lay again. The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of its significance as a breeding site for seabirds, especially northern fulmars (50,000 pairs), Manx shearwaters (10,000 pairs), European storm petrels (20,000 pairs), great skuas (25 pairs), Atlantic puffins (40,000 pairs), common guillemots (135,000 pairs) and black guillemots (150 pairs), as well as 40 breeding pairs of whimbrels.[1]
The Skúvoy ferry in Sandur harbour
Map of Skúvoy
Skúvoy village and a statue depicting Sigmundur Brestisson as a child
References
- ↑ BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Skúvoy. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-02-23.
External links
- personal website with 9 aerial photos of Skúvoy
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Look up Skúvoy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Skúvoy. |
Islands of the Faroe Islands | ||
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