Magerøya

The island Magerøya ( norweg. for " barren island " ) is a Norwegian island in the North Atlantic, about six kilometers from the mainland. Capital of the island is located on the south coast Honningsvåg with a population of 2367 ( 2009). The main tourist attraction is the North Cape lies to the north of the island. Other villages on the island are:

• Kamøyvær (70 inhabitants)
• Skarsvåg (60 inhabitants)
• Nordvågen (415 inhabitants)
• Gjesvær (130 inhabitants)

There are also some isolated farms. The island has around 3100 inhabitants. 2004, there were around 4000, and 1960, around 5300th

If you cross the island Magerøya from the main town towards the North Cape, located on the left about halfway to the North Cape, the highest point on the island, the 417 -meter high Gråkallfjellet. The three main industries of the island are the fishing industry, tourism and various service industries.

1929, the entire island was put under protection. In the short Arctic summers sprout on Magerøya about 400 different plants, such as flowering plants, lichens, mosses and grasses. One of these plants, the Reindeer, is the main food of reindeer grazing on the island during the short summer period. These are the reindeer seeds from the city Karasjok, near the Norwegian- Finnish border. Today, the reindeer are transported by truck and the Norwegian Navy landing craft to the island in the spring. In the autumn the animals are then come so far to forces that they can cover the 1.8 km long route to the mainland by swimming.

The island is connected since 1999 on the North Cape tunnel to the mainland. The tunnel is 6875 meters long and crosses with a maximum depth of 212 meters, the Magerøysund. He is one of the deepest and steepest tunnel - the tube has places slopes of 9%. Since 30 June 2012, the tunnel for all vehicles is toll-free.