Mykines, Faroe Islands
| Mykines | |
|---|---|
| Island | |
Mykines seen from the east (Sørvágur) in October
|
|
 Location within the Faroe Islands |
|
| Coordinates: 62°06′N 7°36′W / 62.100°N 7.600°WCoordinates: 62°06′N 7°36′W / 62.100°N 7.600°W | |
| State |
 Kingdom of Denmark
|
| Constituent country |
 Faroe Islands
|
| Area | |
| • Total | 10 km2 (4 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 560 m (1,840 ft) |
| Population (1 January 2012) | |
| • Total | 14 |
| • Density | 1.4/km2 (3.6/sq mi) |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | EST (UTC+1) |
| Calling code | 298 |
Mykines (Danish: Myggenæs) is the westernmost of the 18 main islands of the Faroe Archipelago.
It lies west of 7.5 degrees W, effectively putting it in the UTC-1 region. However, Mykines uses Greenwich Mean Time like the rest of the Faroes. The only settlement on the island is also called Mykines.
On the northern side of the island is the valley Korkadalur, where there are great columns of basalt, called the Stone-wood. To the west of Mykines is the 1 km long islet Mykineshólmur, with several sea stacks clustered at its western end, where a lighthouse was built in 1909. A 40 m long footbridge connects its eastern end with Mykines.
Mykines belongs to the oldest part of the Faroe Islands and was formed about 60 million years ago. The Faroese basalt is divided into three phases of eruption, the lower and oldest, the middle, and the upper and youngest; the lowest formed by the eruption of low-viscosity lava through long fissures, forming flat volcanoes. In the sound between Mykines and Mykineshólmur, Holmgjogv, one can see one of the most copious such flows on the Faroes, with a depth of about 50 m. The interspersed layers of softer volcanic tuff between the layers of basalt are differentially eroded, so forming, especially on the steep northern side of the islet, some of the richest bird cliffs in the world.
Mountain hares (Lepus timidus) have been introduced, and inhabit the mountain area and surrounding valleys. The Mykines house mouse (Mus musculus mykinessiensis) is endemic for Mykines, and this might suggest an early introduction, maybe as early as in the 6th century by the Irish monks, who cultivated this island. Its closest relative was the now extinct St Kilda house mouse (Mus musculus muralis).
Large numbers of puffins and gannets inhabit Mykines and Mykineshólmur. On the rocks at the waters edge there are colonies of cormorants while the eroded tuff layers in the cliffs make perfect nesting ledges for guillemots and razorbills. On the grassy slopes above the bird cliffs, thousands of puffins have their burrows, and their guano fertilizes the slopes.
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Wikipedia