Bardufoss is a town and commercial centre in

Målselv Municipality Målselv ( sme, Málatvuomi suohkan) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moen, Troms, Moen. The main commerci ...

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English language, English), is a Counties of Norway, county in Northern Norway, northern Norway that was established ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The three villages of

Andselv Andselv is a village in Målselv Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village lies along the Andselva river in the urban area called Bardufoss. Andselv is located just north of Bardufoss Airport along the European route E6 high ...

Andslimoen Andslimoen is a village in Målselv Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village, which lies along the river Målselva in the Målselvdalen valley in the western part of the municipality, is part of the urban area known as Barduf ...

, and

Heggelia Heggelia is a village in Målselv Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located along the river Barduelva and it is part of the commercial centre of Bardufoss. Heggelia is sits along the European route E6 highway about ...

together form the Bardufoss area. Bardufoss is located in the

Målselvdalen Målselvdalen is the largest valley in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The river Målselva runs through the valley, ending at the Målselvfjorden (an arm off the main Malangen fjord). The long valley runs to the north, along with the river, an ...

valley near the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the

Barduelva or ( en, Bardu River) is a river in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The long river is located in the municipalities of Bardu and Målselv. The river flows from the lake Altevatnet northwest to the town of Setermoen, then north to the municipa ...

and

Målselva The Målselva is a river in Målselv Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The long river flows through the Målselvdalen valley and then empties into the Målselvfjorden, an arm of the Malangen (fjord), Malangen fjord. The municipali ...

rivers. It is located about north of the town of Narvik and about south of the city of Tromsø.

Bardufoss Airport Bardufoss Airport ( no, Bardufoss lufthavn; ) is a primary airport situated at Bardufoss in Målselv Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The airport, which is the civilian sector of the Royal Norwegian Air Force's (RNoAF) Bardufoss ...

is located here. The urban area has a population (2017) of 2,545 which gives it a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of .

Military

Bardufoss has a civilian and military

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

Bardufoss Air Station Bardufoss Air Station ( no, Bardufoss flystasjon) is a military air station located at Bardufoss in Målselv Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in Northern Norway. It is the location of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) 139 Air Wing and ...

, suitable for landing bomber aircraft, fighter jets such as F-16s, and other heavy planes. Bardufoss was also the home of the Norwegian Army's 6th division (dissolved in 2009). There is a street in Bardufoss that is named ''General Fleischers Veg'' in honour of

Carl Gustav Fleischer Carl Gustav Fleischer KCB (28 December 1883 – 19 December 1942Fleischer 1947, p. 216) was a Norwegian general and the first land commander to win a major victory against the Germans in the Second World War. Having followed the Norwegian gove ...

. The airport was renamed Snowman International on 19 March 2011 by a Norwegian Minister after a commercial flight landed from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, to join the celebrations.

Nature

Bardufoss is covered in flora. The natural forest is mostly made up of

Downy birch ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

and

Grey alder ''Alnus incana'', the grey alder or speckled alder, is a species of multi-stemmed, shrubby tree in the birch family, with a wide range across the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Tolerant of wetter soils, it can slowly spread with runners ...

. However,

Norway spruce ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very close ...

has been planted in plantations since the middle part of the 20th century for economic reasons (timber). Bardufoss and its airport are used as settings in the TV drama ''

Outlier In statistics, an outlier is a data point that differs significantly from other observations. An outlier may be due to a variability in the measurement, an indication of novel data, or it may be the result of experimental error; the latter are ...

'' (2020).

Climate

Although not far from the coast, Bardufoss and Målselvdalen is known for a somewhat more continental climate, and hence, colder winters (but with less humidity and little wind) compared to the coastal areas. There is a very reliable snow cover in winter, while summer days often are warmer than in Tromsø. There is on average 93 days each winter with daily low or colder, and 28 days with low or colder. The winter season sees on average 68 days with at least snow cover on the ground, 126 days with at least snow cover, and 179 days with at least snow cover. In the warm season there is on average 116 days per year when the daily average high reaches or warmer and 22 days with daily average high above . Precipitation is fairly moderate, there is on average 75 days each year with at least precipitation and 15 days per year with at least precipitation. This is based on data from Met.no with 1971-2000 as base period. Recent years have seen warming. Six of the monthly record highs are from after 2000. The November record low is from 2019.

References

External links

SAS: About BardufossExercise Cold Responseyr.no: Weather and climate statistics for Bardufoss
{{Authority control Målselv Populated places of Arctic Norway Villages in Troms