Fjords in the Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands consist of 18 islands, most of which are deeply incised by fjords.

Overlooking Skálafjørður fjord (foreground), Tangafjørður strait (centre) and Kollafjørður fjord I (background). To the extreme left, the entrance to Kaldbaksfjørður is obscured by clouds.

Terminology

The Faroese word for fjord, fjørður (plural firðir), can indicate both inlets (where the word fjord is used in English) and firths, and channels between islands. The holds true for both the suffix in geographical names and for everyday speech.

  • -fjørður (plural: firðir): either a narrow inlet, firth approaching an inlet, or a strait between islands.[1][2]
  • -sund (plural: sundini): sound, narrow channel.
  • -vík: V-shaped bay or inlet
  • -pollur(in): small round bay, anchorage
  • -vágur (plural: vágar): small elongated bay
  • -botnur: head of a fjord, bottom, cirque.

Water suffixes in other Scandinavian names are often Faroenised, e.g. Limfjørður for Limfjord in Denmark and St. Georgesfjørður for Saint George's Channel between Wales and Ireland.[3] In a few cases Faroese exonyms exist, such as Oyrarsund (Øresund) and Ermarsund (English Channel).

Fjords and firths in the Faroe Islands
Aerial view over Skálafjørður. On the far left, the wider Tangafjørður funneling into the narrower Sundini can be seen.

This list includes all 'traditional' dead-ending fjords with the suffix -fjørður. In some cases, the name more strictly refers to the seaward approaches to the inlet, rather than the sheltered reaches of the inlet.[3] In this list, these are indicated by the cognate word firth.[4]

In addition, the village of Søldarfjørður is situated on the Skálafjørður coast, but no fjord-of-the-same name exists.

Straits in the Faroe Islands
The Leirvíksfjørður between the islands of Eysturoy (left) and Borðoy (right). Farther away in the north, the Kalsoyarfjørður and a small part of Djúpini are visible.

Ending with -fjørður:

Ending with a different suffix:

Of these straits, six are crossed by fixed road links and ten by ferries.

Major bays and inlets with a different suffix

References
  1. "Sprotin Faroese Dictionary".
  2. Guttesen, Rolf (1996). The Faeroe Islands Topographic Atlas. Copenhagen: The Royal Danish Geographical Society and Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen.
  3. Heimsatlas [World Atlas] (in Faroese). Tórshavn: Føroya Skúlabókagrunnur. 1994.
  4. "Kortal GIS".
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