Kunoy

Kunoy
Island
Stamp FR 352 of Postverk Føroya (issued: 25 May 1999; photo: Per á Hædd)
Location within the Faroe Islands
Coordinates: 62°18′N 6°39′W / 62.300°N 6.650°W / 62.300; -6.650Coordinates: 62°18′N 6°39′W / 62.300°N 6.650°W / 62.300; -6.650
State	Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country	Faroe Islands
Municipality seat	Kunoyar kommuna
Area
• Total	35.5 km2 (13.7 sq mi)
Area rank	8
Highest elevation	830 m (2,720 ft)
Population (2002)
• Total	134
• Rank	11
• Density	3.8/km2 (9.8/sq mi)
Time zone	GMT (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	WEST (UTC+1)
Calling code	298

Kunoy (meaning Woman island, Danish: Kunø) is an island located in the north-east of the Faroe Islands between Kalsoy and Borðoy (to which it is linked via a causeway).

There are two settlements on Kunoy: Kunoy (population 64), on the west coast and Haraldssund on the south-east coast. These have been connected by a tunnel since 1988. Haraldssund is connected by a causeway to the neighbouring island of Borðoy to the east of Kunoy. Before the causeway was built, travel to the island was by ferry. Nowadays the 504 bus runs a regular service across the causeway, with a route from Klaksvík through Ánir then across to Haraldssund and through the tunnel to Kunoy.

A third settlement, Skarð, was the site of a fishing accident on Christmas Eve, 1913 which killed seven men (all the male population except a 14-year-old and a 70-year-old). The women decided to move to Haraldssund, and the area is now deserted.

The coastline of the northern tip of the island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of its significance as a breeding site for seabirds, especially European storm petrels (250 pairs) and black guillemots (200 pairs).

The brown rat, was introduced on purpose by people from Klaksvík, to the island in 1914 over some slight, and it has done tremendous damage to the bird population since then, most notably the Atlantic puffin.