Vágar (; ) is one of the 18 islands in the archipelago of the Faroe Islands and the most westerly of the large islands. With a size of , it ranks third in size, behind Streymoy and Eysturoy. Vágar region also comprises the island of Mykines.

The Vágar island shape is very distinctive, since on maps it resembles a dog's head. The fjord Sørvágsfjørður is the mouth and the lake Fjallavatn is the eye.

History

Vágar is the first port of call for most foreigners travelling to the Faroe Islands, as it is home to the islands’ only airport, Vágar Airport. An airfield was built there during World War II by the British, who occupied the Faroe Islands with the islanders' consent. After the war it lay unused for about 20 years, but was then put back into service and expanded/modernised as required. It handles about 290,000 passengers a year (2016). Such large numbers by Faroese standards put a considerable strain on transport facilities, with the result that a road tunnel (Vágatunnilin) measuring in length and running under the sea now connects Vágar with the two largest islands in the Faroes and thus the capital Tórshavn.

Tourism

The country's two largest lakes - Sørvágsvatn and Fjallavatn - are to be found there, and the tourist association organises excursions throughout the summer.

Villages

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thumb|[[Miðvágur in 2004]]

thumb|[[Sørvágur and the island of Mykines in the background.]]

Vágar has three large villages: Miðvágur, Sandavágur and Sørvágur and three small ones: Gásadalur, Bøur and Vatnsoyrar. Earlier there were two more villages: Slættanes, which was abandoned in 1965 and Víkar, which was abandoned in 1910.

The largest is Miðvágur, which has 1,130 inhabitants

Geography

Climate

Vagar has a cold, temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfc), bordering on a tundra climate (ET). It has chilly winters, cool summers and is wet year-round. Snow can fall in trace quantities from November to April.

Important Bird Area

The north-west, west and south-west coasts of the island have been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of their significance as breeding sites for seabirds, especially northern fulmars (100,000 pairs), European storm petrels (5000 pairs), European shags (500 pairs), great skuas (20 pairs), black-legged kittiwakes (8400 pairs), Atlantic puffins (40,000 pairs), common guillemots (2700 individuals) and black guillemots (400 pairs).

Mountains

thumb|Árnafjall mountain, with the village of [[Gásadalur in 2021.]]

There are 41 mountains on Vágar, the major ones are:

{| class="wikitable"

! Name

! Height

|-

| Árnafjall

| 722 m

|-

| Eysturtindur

| 715 m

|-

|Malinstindur

| 683

|-

|}

Major lakes

{| class="wikitable"

! Name

! Area

|-

| Sørvágsvatn

| 3.4&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>

|-

| Fjallavatn

| 1.02&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>

|-

| Vatnsdalsvatn

|

|-

| Kvilkinnavatn

|

|}

Major waterfalls

thumb|[[Drangarnir, Tindhólmur and Gáshólmur]]

  • Bøsdalafossur
  • Múlafossur
  • Reipsáfossur

Islets and rocks in the sea

  • Tindhólmur
  • Gáshólmur
  • Skerhólmur
  • Trøllkonufingur
  • Dunnesdrangar
  • Filpusardrangur
  • Drangarnir - Lítli Drangur, Stóri Drangur

Geology

thumb|These Vágar sea cliffs show the volcanic stratigraphy typical of the Faroe Islands

Vágar Island, like the rest of the Faroe Islands, is primarily composed of Paleocene-Eocene basalt lava flows, dating back 54-58 million years. These lavas were formed during the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean and are part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province. The island's geology features alternating layers of basalt and volcanic clay and sandstone, with the basalt layers representing volcanic eruptions and the sediment layers forming during pauses in volcanic activity. Glaciers during the ice ages further shaped the island's landscape, carving out valleys and fjords.

See Geology of the Faroe Islands for an outline and references.

References

  • Stamps.fo (public domain by Postverk Føroya)
  • Personal website with 78 aerial photos of Vágar