Sandoy


Sandoy is the first of the five southern islands that make up the Faroe chain, the fifth biggest of all the Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. It also refers to the region that includes this island along with Skúvoy and Stóra Dímun., the largest population center on the island is the village of Sandur with a population of 599. Other settlements include Skarvanes, Skopun, Skálavík, Húsavík and Dalur.
Sandoy gets its name from the large beach at Sandur, and the general sandy soil of the island. It is the only island with dunes.
There are similarly named islands, Sanday in the Orkney Islands, Sanday in the Inner Hebrides and Sandøy in Norway.
A proposal has been approved by the Faroese parliament to build a tunnel, the Sandoyartunnilin, connecting Sandoy with the more populous Streymoy to the north. Construction is not planned to be completed until 2021.

Agriculture

The island is considered the best island for agriculture due to its fertile sandy soil. The largest potato farm in the country is located on the island. And people who have gardening interests have generally an easier time getting plants to grow here.
On 19 August 2015 the agricultural union "Veltan" was founded for people who have an interest in gardening and farming, their aim is to improve conditions for a self-sustaining way of life, and agricultural businesses.
The island supports 6,878 sheep, not including lambs.

Important Bird Areas

The island's surrounding bird cliffs and steep slopes have been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of their significance as a breeding site for seabirds, especially northern fulmars, Manx shearwaters, European storm petrels, European shags, great skuas, Atlantic puffins and black guillemots. An additional IBA on the island comprises the lowland areas around the village of Sandur, with their moorland and peat bogs, and the lakes Gróthúsvatn, Lítlavatn, Sandsvatn and Stóravatn, because they support 100-150 breeding pairs of Eurasian whimbrels.

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