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19-473: The airport opened 1 July 1972 as part of a government program of building a series of small airports along the coast. This was a major success and an important step for the population in the area ( Vesterålen archipelago ), who now could travel to the bigger cities of Norway and the rest of the world in one day, not weeks. Currently owned and operated by Avinor , the airport was managed by the Hadsel municipality for

38-608: A margin of more than 2° over a 41,000-year period, owing to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon . Consequently, the Arctic Circle is currently drifting northwards at a speed of about 14.5 m (48 ft) per year. The word arctic comes from the Greek word ἀρκτικός ( arktikos : "near the Bear , northern") and that from the word ἄρκτος ( arktos : " bear "). The Arctic Circle

57-686: Is maritime , with mild winters considering this archipelago is well north of the Arctic Circle . Bø Municipality is the northernmost location in Norway with daily mean above 0 °C (32 °F) in all winter months. Vesterålen is connected to the mainland and Evenes airport by bridges. It is connected to Lofoten by ferry, although since the opening of the Lofast road in December 2007, Lofoten can also be reached by road. The coastal steamer Hurtigruten calls at

76-459: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Vester%C3%A5len Vesterålen ( Norwegian , pronounced [ˈvɛ̂stəroːɫn̩] , English: / ˈ v ɛ s t ər ɔː l ə n / VEST -ər-aw-lən ) or Viestterálas   ( Northern Sami ) is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway . It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad . It

95-540: Is also located at Andøya. The Norwegian Coast Guard has its northern base at Sortland ( Kystvaktskvadron Nord ). Fishing, in particular cod fisheries , has always been important in Vesterålen. There is also fish farming , and some agriculture in Vesterålen. Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles , and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern equivalent

114-687: Is the Antarctic Circle . The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at which, on the winter solstice (which is the shortest day of the year) in the Northern Hemisphere , the Sun will not rise all day, and on the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice (which is the longest day of the year), the Sun will not set. These phenomena are referred to as polar night and midnight sun respectively, and

133-538: Is the largest settlement in the immediate vicinity of the Arctic Circle, lying 6 km (4 mi) south of the line. Salekhard (51,186) in Russia is the only city in the world located directly on the Arctic Circle. In contrast, the largest North American community north of the Arctic Circle, Sisimiut ( Greenland ), has approximately 5,600 inhabitants. In the United States, Utqiagvik, Alaska (formerly known as Barrow)

152-622: Is the largest settlement north of the Arctic Circle with about 5,000 inhabitants. The largest such community in Canada is Inuvik in the Northwest Territories , with 3,137 inhabitants. Download coordinates as: The Arctic Circle is roughly 16,000 km (9,900 mi) in circumference. The area north of the Circle is about 20,000,000 km (7,700,000 sq mi) and covers roughly 4% of Earth's surface. The Arctic Circle passes through

171-467: Is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the archipelago. Vesterålen includes the municipalities of Andøy , Bø , Hadsel , Sortland , and Øksnes . The Old Norse forms of the name were Vestráll and Vestrálar ( plural ). The first element is vestr which means " west " and the last element is áll which means "(deep and narrow) sound" or " strait ". The name describes

190-448: Is the southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere at which the centre of the Sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for twenty-four hours; as a result, at least once each year at any location within the Arctic Circle the centre of the Sun is visible at local midnight , and at least once the centre is not visible at local noon . Directly on the Arctic Circle these events occur, in principle, exactly once per year: at

209-529: The Arctic Ocean , the Scandinavian Peninsula , North Asia , Northern America , and Greenland. The land within the Arctic Circle is divided among eight countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States ( Alaska ), Canada ( Yukon , Northwest Territories , and Nunavut ), Denmark (Greenland), and Iceland (where it passes through the small offshore island of Grímsey ). The climate north of

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228-469: The June and December solstices , respectively. However, because of atmospheric refraction and mirages , and also because the sun appears as a disk and not a point, part of the midnight sun is visible, on the night of the northern summer solstice , at a latitude of about 50 minutes of arc (′) (90 km (56 mi)) south of the Arctic Circle. Similarly, on the day of the northern winter solstice , part of

247-515: The Arctic Circle is generally cold, but the coastal areas of Norway have a generally mild climate as a result of the Gulf Stream , which makes the ports of northern Norway and northwest Russia ice-free all year long. In the interior, summers can be quite warm, while winters are extremely cold. For example, summer temperatures in Norilsk , Russia will sometimes reach as high as 30 °C (86 °F), while

266-617: The Sun may be seen up to about 50′ north of the Arctic Circle. That is true at sea level ; those limits increase with elevation above sea level , although in mountainous regions there is often no direct view of the true horizon. The largest communities north of the Arctic Circle are situated in Russia, Norway, and Sweden: Murmansk (population 295,374) and Norilsk (178,018) in Russia; Tromsø (75,638) in Norway, Vorkuta (58,133) in Russia, Bodø (52,357) and Harstad (24,703) in Norway; and Kiruna , Sweden (22,841). Rovaniemi (62,667) in Finland

285-430: The first 20 years. Work on extending RESA and improving the strip around the runway was completed in 2006. In March 2015, Avinor decided to postpone plans for extending the runway to 1199 meters. [REDACTED] Media related to Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen at Wikimedia Commons This article about an airport in Norway is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Nordland location article

304-575: The further north one progresses, the more pronounced these effects become. For example, in the Russian port city of Murmansk , three degrees above the Arctic Circle, the Sun does not rise above the horizon for 40 successive days in midwinter. The position of the Arctic Circle is not fixed and currently runs 66°33′50.2″ north of the Equator . Its latitude depends on the Earth's axial tilt , which fluctuates within

323-593: The ports of Stokmarknes, Sortland, and Risøyhamn in Vesterålen. There are two regional airports: Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen for small aircraft, and Andenes Airport on Andøya. The population in Vesterålen as of 1 January 2004 was 30,648 according to Statistisk Sentralbyrå ) The largest town is Sortland , but the regional hospital is in nearby Stokmarknes in Hadsel Municipality . The Royal Norwegian Air Force has based all its P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft at Andøya Air Station , and Andøya Rocket Range

342-441: The seaway west of the island of Hinnøya . Similarly, the old name of the seaway east of Hinnøya (now called Tjeldsundet ) might have been Austráll (meaning "the eastern sound/strait"). Vesterålen consists of the municipalities of Andøy , Bø , Hadsel , Sortland , and Øksnes . According to some definitions, Lødingen Municipality is also included. Vesterålen is made up of several islands: Langøya , Andøya , Hadseløya ,

361-518: The western part of Hinnøya , the northern part of Austvågøya and several smaller islands. The landscape is mountainous, but the mountains have a more rounded shape compared to the mountains in Lofoten. The towns and villages are situated on the strandflat ( strandflaten ) between the mountains and the fjords. There are also several lakes, such as Alsvågvatnet . Møysalen National Park is partly located in Vesterålen ( website ). The climate in Vesterålen

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