Streymoy (Danish: Strømø) is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn, is located on its southeast coast. The name means “island of currents”. It also refers to the largest region of the country that also includes the islands of Hestur, Koltur and Nólsoy. read more…
Eysturoy (meaning ‘East Island’) is a region and the second-largest of the Faroe Islands, both in size and population. Eysturoy is separated by a narrow sound from the main island of Streymoy. Eysturoy is extremely rugged, with some 66 separate mountain peaks, including Slættaratindur, the highest peak in the archipelago at 880 metres (2,890 ft). The country’s two longest fjords, Skálafjørður in the south and Funningsfjørður in the north, almost split the island in two halves. The isthmus in between, Millum Fjarða, is one of the flattest areas in the country. Important settlements on Eysturoy are Fuglafjørður in the north and the densely populated area of the municipalities of Runavík and Nes in the south. read more…
Suðuroy (literally ‘South Island’, Danish: Suderø) is the southernmost of the Faroe Islands. The island covers 163.7 square kilometres (63.2 sq mi). In 2018 the population was 4,601. Suðuroy region (sýsla) comprises this island and Lítla Dímun, the next isle northward in the Faroes, which is uninhabited. read more…
Sandoy (“Sand Island”) is the first of the five southern islands that make up the Faroe chain, the fifth biggest of all the Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. It also refers to the region that includes this island along with Skúvoy and Stóra Dímun. As of January 2020, the largest population centre on the island is the village of Sandur with a population of 532. Other settlements include Skarvanes, Skopun, Skálavík, Húsavík and Dalur. Sandoy gets its name from the large beach at Sandur, and the general sandy soil of the island. It is the only island with dunes. read more…
Vágar (Danish: Vågø) is one of the 18 islands in the archipelago of the Faroe Islands and the most westerly of the large islands. With a size of 178 square kilometres (69 square miles), it ranks third in size, behind Streymoy and Eysturoy. Vágar region also comprises the island of Mykines. The Vágar island shape is very distinctive, since on maps it resembles a dog’s head. The fjord Sørvágsfjørður is the mouth and the lake Fjallavatn is the eye. read more…
The Ria Formosa lagoon, located in the Algarve, in southern Portugal, is a system of barrier islands that connects to the sea through six inlets. Five of these inlets are natural and have mobility characteristics. The sixth is an artificial inlet that was opened with the purpose of allowing easier access to the port of Faro. In 2010, the lagoon was recognised as one of the country’s seven natural wonders. Following a public vote in which 656,356 voted, the Ria Formosa was announced the winner of the Marine Area category of the ‘7 Maravilhas Naturais de Portugal’. read more…
The Great Green Wall or Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel (French: Grande Muraille Verte pour le Sahara et le Sahel) is a project adopted by the African Union in 2007, initially conceived as a way to combat desertification in the Sahel region and hold back expansion of the Sahara desert, by planting a wall of trees stretching across the entire Sahel from Djibouti, Djibouti to Dakar, Senegal. The original dimensions of the “wall” were to be 15 km (9 mi) wide and 7,775 km (4,831 mi) long, but the program expanded to encompass nations in both northern and western Africa. The concept evolved into promoting water harvesting techniques, greenery protection and improving indigenous land use techniques, aimed at creating a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa. Later it adopted the view that desert boundaries change based on rainfall variations. read more…
