Store Sotra

Sotra
Store Sotra

Location in Hordaland county
Geography
Location	Hordaland, Norway
Coordinates	60°14′12″N 5°04′46″E / 60.2366°N 5.0795°E / 60.2366; 5.0795Coordinates: 60°14′12″N 5°04′46″E / 60.2366°N 5.0795°E / 60.2366; 5.0795
Area	178.6 km2 (69.0 sq mi)
Length	31 km (19.3 mi)
Width	10 km (6 mi)
Highest elevation	341 m (1,119 ft)
Highest point	Liatårnet
Administration
Norway
County	Hordaland
Municipalities	Fjell, Sund

Sotra or Store Sotra is the name of a large island in Hordaland county, Norway, located just west of the city of Bergen. It is part of a pair of islands called Sotra that are part of a large archipelago stretching from Fedje southwards along the coast of Norway. The larger island of the two is Store Sotra (also called Sotra), and the smaller (but most populated) of the two is Litlesotra. Roughly 30,500 people live on the two islands of Sotra.

The northern two-thirds of the large island of Sotra is part of the municipality of Fjell and the southern third of Sotra is part of the municipality of Sund. The main population centres on Sotra include (from north to south) Vindenes, Ågotnes, Knappskog, Møvik, Tælavåg, Hammarsland, Skogsvågen, and Klokkarvik.

The island of Sotra is part of an archipelago, so it is surrounded by islands and waterways. To the east of Sotra lies the island of Litlesotra. The small islands of Bildøy and Geitung lie near Litlesotra. The Raunefjorden (to the east) separates Sotra from the mainland Bergen Peninsula. The small islands of Tyssøyna, Lerøyna, and Bjelkarøyna lie in the Raunefjorden off the southeastern coast of Sotra. To the south of Sotra lies the island of Toftøya and the Korsfjorden. To the west of Sotra lie a number of small islands including Algrøyna and Lokøyna. Finally, to the north of Sotra lie the small islands of Misje, Turøyna, and Toftøyna. Sotra is connected to the mainland by a series of road bridges across Bildøy and Litlesotra before crossing the Sotra Bridge, the seventh-longest suspension bridge in Norway.