Norway
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
732km²
Area
339km
Coastline
1,044m
Highest point
Store Blåmann
13,000
People
11°C
Warmest sea
August
When to go to Kvaløya, Troms
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (11 °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.
Island in Tromsø, Norway
Kvaløya, Troms is an island in Norway. It covers 732 km², with 339 km of coastline. Its highest point, Store Blåmann, rises to 1,044 m. About 13,000 people live on it.
Getting there
- Tromsø Airport (TOS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 16 km in a straight lineCar hire at TOS airport (Tromsø)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesBrensholmen - Botnhamn, Bellvik - Vengsøy, Kystruten
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Kvaløya, Troms.
- 16beachesGjellvika and 15 more
- 10viewpointsAurora Borealis Viewpoint and 9 more
- 4ferry terminalsBellvik ferjekai, Brensholmen ferjekai, Sandneshamn kai and 1 more
- 110named peaksStore Blåmann, Skittentinden, Hollendaren and 107 more
- 9waterfallsLeirbakkfossen, Fossen, Fossan and 6 more
- 4castles and fortsBrennsholmen fort, Henrikvik kystfort, Austein fort and 1 more
- 2ruins and archaeological sitesRock carvings at Skavberg
- 2waymarked walking routes
- 2campsites
- 6hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 6restaurants, 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, Troms in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Kvaløya, Troms, each with its own numbers.
22beaches and covesCoastya
8lakesLakeyas
4waterfallsCascadyas
Largest lake
1.1km²
Skorelvvatnet
according to Lakeyas
Deepest lake
43m
Storvatnet
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
18.1°C
Dankarvågvatnet
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
11.3°C
Mortensteinstranda
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
22 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Mortensteinstranda11.3°C
- Norskesanden11.1°C
- Vågencove11.0°C
- Laukvikacove11.0°C
- Lyfjordencove11.0°C
- Bogbuktacove11.3°C
- Storvikacove11.3°C
- Sæterbuktacove11.3°C
14 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
8 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Skorelvvatnet1.1km²
- Storvatnet43 m deep1.1km²
- Store Synnøvjordvatnet0.65km²
- Kattfjordvatnet0.39km²
- Skardvatnet (lanaw sa Noruwega, Troms Fylke, Tromsø)0.25km²
- Dankarvågvatnet0.15km²
- Skulsfjordvatnet0.12km²
- Amundvatnet0.11km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
4 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Fossan
- Fossen
- Kalvedalsfossen
- Leirbakkfossen
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 275 m above the sea. 42 % of it is below 200 m.
- 13 %0–50 m
- 29 %50–200 m
- 43 %200–500 m
- 15 %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).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -5 | -5 | -2 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 3 | -1 | -3 |
| Night low (°C) | -11 | -10 | -8 | -4 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 4 | -1 | -6 | -8 |
| Sea (°C) | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 106 | 109 | 120 | 89 | 94 | 106 | 112 | 113 | 136 | 122 | 114 | 124 |
| Wet days | 18 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 20 |
| Sun h/day | 0.3 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 6.2 | 4.9 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.2 | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 15 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 14 |
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 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 | −1.5 |
| 2021 | −0.3 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.6 | −0.2 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | −0.1 |
| 2022 | −0.1 | −0.3 | +0.1 | −0.1 | −0.3 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.2 |
| 2023 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.4 | −0.2 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.3 |
| 2024 | −0.7 | −0.7 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.4 | +1.2 | +1.6 | +3.3 | +2.5 | +1.6 | +0.8 | −0.1 |
| 2025 | −0.5 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +1.8 | +2.2 | +1.8 | +1.1 | +0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q74652) · 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, Cascadyas — 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
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit