Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
1,579km²
Area
773km
Coastline
1,017m
Highest point
Breitinden
14,942
People
12°C
Warmest sea
August
14km
To the mainland
When to go to Senja
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (12 °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 Norway
Senja is an island in Norway. It covers 1,579 km², with 773 km of coastline. Its highest point, Breitinden, rises to 1,017 m. About 14,942 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 14 km away.
Getting there
- Bardufoss Airport (BDU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 51 km in a straight lineCar hire at TOS airport (Tromsø)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries3 ferry terminals on the island
- 14 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
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 Senja.
- 38beachesBallesvika, Skårlineset, Ersfjord beach and 35 more
- 27viewpointsviewpoint Bergsbotn, Balten, Storsegla and 24 more
- 3lighthouses
- 3ferry terminalsSkrolsvik hurtigbåtkai, Lysnes kai, Flakstadvåg hurtigbåtkai
- 2marinas
- 161named peaksBreidtind, Breidtinden, Stormoa and 158 more
- 21waterfallsSjyfossen, Litjefossen, Storfossen and 18 more
- 4castles and fortsSkrolsvik fort, Berg fort, Flatneset fort and 1 more
- 35ruins and archaeological sitesGiska and 34 more
- 7waymarked walking routes
- 13campsitesCamp Mefjord, Ballesvika, Bivouac 1 tent and 10 more
- 20hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 11restaurants, 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
Senja in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Senja, each with its own numbers.
59beaches and covesCoastya
1,155mountainsPeakyas
45lakesLakeyas
13waterfallsCascadyas
Highest point
1,008m
Breitinden
prominence 1,008 m · according to Peakyas
Largest lake
4.9km²
Svartholvatnet
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
18.6°C
Vardnesvatnet
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
12.3°C
Antonvågen
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
59 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Heimstesanden12.2°C
- Sørstesanden12.2°C
- Antonvågencove12.3°C
- Islandsbotncove12.3°C
- Lanesbuktacove12.3°C
- Krokelvbuktacove12.3°C
- Vestervågencove12.3°C
- Mølnvågencove12.3°C
51 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
1,155 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Breitindenprominence 1,008 m1,008m
- Kliftre756m
- Grinda702m
- Roalden617m
- Horntinden556m
- Skalletinden529m
- Balten508m
- Kaldtinden471m
1,147 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
45 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Svartholvatnet4.9km²
- Lysvatnet3.6km²
- Storvatnet (lanaw sa Noruwega, Troms Fylke, Tranøy)2.4km²
- Store Bunkevatnet2.2km²
- Sørlivatnet2.0km²
- Hestvatnet1.9km²
- Åndervatnet1.2km²
- Grasmyrskogvatnet1.1km²
37 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
13 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Fossen
- Hellefossen
- Helvetesfoss
- Sagfossen
- Sjøfossen
- Kaperfossen
- Kjosfossen
- Litjefossen
5 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 244 m above the sea. 47 % of it is below 200 m.
- 18 %0–50 m
- 30 %50–200 m
- 42 %200–500 m
- 11 %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.
50 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) | -1 | -1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Night low (°C) | -4 | -4 | -3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | -2 |
| Sea (°C) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 104 | 101 | 112 | 83 | 80 | 87 | 90 | 97 | 126 | 119 | 116 | 125 |
| Wet days | 19 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 |
| Sun h/day | 0.1 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 5.4 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.0 | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 22 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 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 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.1 | −0.3 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.6 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.3 | ±0.0 |
| 2022 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.2 |
| 2023 | +0.5 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.3 | +1.2 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.2 |
| 2024 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.1 | −0.2 | −0.2 | +1.9 | +2.2 | +3.6 | +2.6 | +1.8 | +0.9 | ±0.0 |
| 2025 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.9 | +1.7 | +2.0 | +2.3 | +1.9 | +1.1 | +0.9 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Kvaløya, Troms
Norway732 km²1,044 m52 km away
TromsøyaNorway23 km²158 m68 km away
AndøyaNorway486 km²705 m75 km away
RingvassøyaNorway656 km²1,049 m92 km away
HinnøyaNorway2,189 km²1,264 m111 km away
LangøyaNorway855 km²763 m115 km away
AustvågøyaNorway527 km²1,146 m161 km away
SørøyaNorway805 km²659 m225 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q935821) · 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, Peakyas, 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.Visit