Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
334km²
Area
136km
Coastline
629m
Highest point
Svartfjellet
9,850
People
10°C
Warmest sea
August
3km
To the mainland
When to go to Kvaløya, Finnmark
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (10 °C) and coolest in March (4 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Large island in Finnmark county, Norway
Kvaløya, Finnmark is an island in Norway. It covers 334 km², with 136 km of coastline. Its highest point, Svartfjellet, rises to 629 m. About 9,850 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 3 km away.
Getting there
- Hammerfest Airport (HFT)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at HFT airport (Hammerfest)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesSørøysundXpressen, MåsøyXpressen, SørøysundXpressen: Hammerfest - Kvalsund sentrum - Revsneshamn, LoppaXpressen
- 3 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Kvaløya, Finnmark.
- 4beachesStranda and 3 more
- 5viewpoints
- 1lighthousesSector light
- 10ferry terminalsHurtigruten Hammerfest, Hammerfest havn kai 3, Strømsnes Akkarfjord and 7 more
- 4marinasPolarbase and 3 more
- 5named peaksSvartfjellet, Tyven, Ørntinden and 2 more
- 3castles and fortsFuglenes fort, Hammerfest fort, Stallogaro
- 10ruins and archaeological sites
- 2campsitesStorvannet NAF Camping, Hammerfest havn
- 10hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 12restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Kvaløya, Finnmark in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Kvaløya, Finnmark, each with its own numbers.
19beaches and covesCoastya
17lakesLakeyas
Largest lake
0.63km²
Storvihjávri
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
18.0°C
Guhkesjávri
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
9.9°C
Melandet
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
19 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Melandet9.9°C
- Molvikacove9.9°C
- Kransvikacove9.9°C
- Pollencove9.9°C
- Ytre Torskefjordencove9.8°C
- Indre Torskefjordencove9.8°C
- Storbuktacove9.8°C
- Toknebuktacove9.8°C
11 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
17 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Storvihjávri0.63km²
- Stuorra Vearajávri0.62km²
- Riebansilbajávri0.53km²
- Bajit Vearajávri0.40km²
- Njargajavri0.30km²
- Kultfjellvatnet0.27km²
- Nuorijávri0.26km²
- Guhkesjávri0.13km²
9 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 242 m above the sea. 40 % of it is below 200 m.
- 8 %0–50 m
- 31 %50–200 m
- 57 %200–500 m
- 3 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Hammerfest11,448 people
- Rypefjord1,731 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -4 | -4 | -2 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 3 | -1 | -2 |
| Night low (°C) | -8 | -8 | -6 | -3 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 0 | -4 | -6 |
| Sea (°C) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 69 | 65 | 83 | 63 | 79 | 95 | 100 | 93 | 86 | 92 | 78 | 84 |
| Wet days | 18 | 16 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 17 | 20 |
| Sun h/day | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 5.3 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 0.1 | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 23 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 23 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.1 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +1.3 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.6 | −0.1 | −0.4 |
| 2022 | −0.2 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.8 | +0.2 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.3 |
| 2023 | +0.3 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | +0.1 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | −0.1 | −0.6 |
| 2024 | −0.4 | −0.5 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.7 | +0.3 | +1.0 | +2.4 | +2.8 | +2.2 | +1.5 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +1.5 | +1.9 | +1.9 | +1.2 | +0.6 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Seiland
Norway579 km²1,078 m38 km away
SørøyaNorway805 km²659 m58 km away
MagerøyaNorway432 km²417 m80 km away
RingvassøyaNorway656 km²1,049 m195 km away
TromsøyaNorway23 km²158 m212 km away
Kvaløya, TromsNorway732 km²1,044 m228 km away
SenjaNorway1,579 km²1,017 m280 km away
AndøyaNorway486 km²705 m353 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1725867) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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