Why Hinnøya
Hinnøya, known in Northern Sami as Iinnasuolu, is located off the western coast of Northern Norway. Covering 2,204.7 square kilometres, it is Norway's fourth-largest island and the largest outside the Svalbard archipelago. The island straddles the border of Nordland and Troms counties, encompassing parts of the Lofoten, Vesterålen, Ofoten, and Troms regions. Its historical name comes from the Old Norse word Hinn, which likely stems from a verb meaning to split or cut, referencing two massive fjords that nearly divide the island in two.
As of 2017, the island had a population of 32,688. Harstad is the only town on Hinnøya, complemented by larger villages such as Lødingen, Borkenes, Sigerfjord, and Sørvik. Local governance is shared among eight municipalities: Harstad, Kvæfjord, and Tjeldsund in Troms county, alongside Andøy, Hadsel, Lødingen, Sortland, and Vågan in Nordland county.
Hinnøya features a predominantly rugged and mountainous landscape, particularly in its southern half. It is carved by several fjords, notably Gullesfjorden in the northeast and Øksfjorden in the southwest, which leave a narrow five-kilometre isthmus between them. Valleys and freshwater lakes dot the island, with Storvatnet standing as the largest lake at 6.67 square kilometres. The tree line averages around 400 metres above sea level, ranging from 250 to nearly 500 metres. The southern region houses Møysalen National Park and the island's highest peak, the 1,262-metre-tall Møysalen. In contrast, the northeast offers the primary agricultural land in Harstad and Kvæfjord, while a nature reserve near Forfjord in the northwest protects forests, bogs, and Norway's oldest pine trees, which are over 700 years old.
Waterways define the boundaries of the island, with the Tjeldsundet sound separating Hinnøya from the mainland and Tjeldøya, the Raftsundet strait dividing it from Austvågøya, and the Risøyrenna strait running between Hinnøya and Andøya. Climatically, the southern coast experiences warmer and wetter winters than the northern shores. In the northern town of Harstad, historical temperature extremes include a high of 31.7 degrees Celsius in July 2014 and a low of minus 16.1 degrees Celsius in February 2010.
Access to Hinnøya is facilitated by several bridges and ferry routes. The Tjeldsund Bridge crosses Tjeldsundet to connect the island to the mainland. Additional bridges extend to neighboring islands, including the Sortland Bridge to Langøya and the Andøy Bridge to Andøya. The European Route E10 highway crosses the landmass via the Lofoten mainland connection, which opened in December 2007 and passes close to Møysalen National Park. In the southeast, a ferry route traverses the Vestfjorden between the village of Lødingen and Bognes on the mainland.
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