The Faroes consist of 21 islands midway between the Shetlands
and Iceland.
Of these, 17 are inhabited.
They are composed of Paleogene tholeitic basalts erupted during
the opening of the North Atlantic.
As the images below attest, they are basically treeless but
ice-free.
Rising to just under 3,000 feet above sea-level.
Originally jointly controlled by Norway and Denmark, they
became solely a Danish
possession until WW2 when they briefly came under British
military control.
Currently the Faroe Islanders are responsible for domestic
policy while Denmark controls foreign policy.
The volcanic rocks of the islands were mapped by Danish geologist
and resistance member,
Arne Noe-Nygaard.
The first six stamps below were issued in 1999.
The next four, continuing the series, were issued in
2000.
Click here to return
to Atlantic map.
Click here to return to home page.