Storselsøya Explained

Storselsøya
Selsøya
Hestmona
Pushpin Map:Nordland#Norway
Pushpin Label:Storselsøya
Pushpin Label Position:top
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of the island
Location:Nordland, Norway
Coordinates:66.5308°N 12.8494°W
Area Km2:13.6
Length Km:6
Width Km:4
Elevation M:571
Highest Mount:Hestmonkallen
Country:Norway
Country Admin Divisions Title:County
Country Admin Divisions:Nordland
Country Admin Divisions Title 1:Municipalities
Country Admin Divisions 1:Rødøy and Lurøy
Population:35
Population As Of:2017

Storselsøya (also known as Selsøya or Hestmona)[1] is an island in Nordland county, Norway. The island is divided between two municipalities: Rødøy in the north and Lurøy in the south. The island of Nesøya lies to the west, the island of Lurøya lies to the south, and the mainland village of Tonnes lies to the east.

The northern and eastern parts of the 13.6km2 island are flat and marshy. The Arctic Circle crosses the northern part of the island. There are ferry connections to the surrounding islands and to the mainland at Jektvika. The 571m (1,873feet) tall mountain Hestmonkallen is located in the southwest.[2]

Name

The name of the island has varied over time and not all have agreed on the name. In 2014, the appeal board for the Norwegian Language Council made a final decision on the name of the island. They decided that the main name of the island would be Storselsøya and that name would also refer to the northern part of the island in Rødøy Municipality. Hestmona would be an official name that refers to the southern part of the island. The board also approved Selsøya as an alternate name. A minority on the appeal board wanted Hestmannøy to refer to the southern part in Lurøy Municipality, but that was not approved. Historically, the island was known as Hestmona because of the main mountain on the island was known as Hestmonkallen.[3] [4]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Klagenemnda for stedsnavnsaker. PDF. Norwegian. Språkrådet. 2014-03-14.
  2. Encyclopedia: Selsøya. Geir. Thorsnæs. 2019-02-02. 2017-07-14. . Kunnskapsforlaget. Norwegian.
  3. Web site: Storselsøya, Rødøy (Nordland). yr.no. Norwegian. 2019-02-02.
  4. Web site: Hestmona, Lurøy (Nordland). yr.no. Norwegian. 2019-02-02.