The coastline of Norway is formed along the

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. T ...

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea ( no, Norskehavet; is, Noregshaf; fo, Norskahavið) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to ...

, and

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...

. This considers only the mainland coastline and excludes Svalbard. A straight line along Norway's sea borders (the coastal perimeter) is long. Along the coast there are many

fjords In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, and bays, resulting in a low-resolution coastline of over . At linear intercepts, this length increases to (see the

coastline paradox The coastline paradox is the counterintuitive observation that the coastline of a landmass does not have a well-defined length. This results from the fractal curve-like properties of coastlines; i.e., the fact that a coastline typically has a fr ...

). Much of Norway's wealth is linked to its long coastline; for example, the

petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The large ...

, maritime transport,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, and

fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

. The Norwegian landscape was formed by

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s that eroded the basement rock and formed countless valleys and fjords, as well as the characteristic skerries that protect the land from the ocean along most of the mainland coastline. There are only a few shorter or longer stretches where the mainland is exposed to the open sea along the coast: at

Lindesnes Lindesnes ( en, the Naze) is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mandal. Other villages in Lindesnes include Åvik, Hølle ...

Lista Lista is a former municipality located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The administrative centre was the village of Vanse where Vanse Church is located. Lista munici ...

Jæren Jæren is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway. At about , Jæren is the large ...

, Stad,

Hustadvika Hustadvika is a long section of coastline in Fræna Municipality in Romsdal, Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the shipping route between the towns of Molde and Kristiansund. Unlike most of the Norwegian coast, there are no lar ...

, and Folda in Trøndelag, and along the

Varanger Peninsula The Varanger Peninsula ( no, Varangerhalvøya; sme, Várnjárga; fkv, Varenkinniemi) is a peninsula in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the northeasternmost part of Norway, along the Barents Sea. The peninsula has the Tanafjorden to ...

Facts

Because of countless peninsulas and inlets, large and small islands, holms, and skerries, the Norwegian coast is among the longest in the world. Some facts about the Norwegian coastline: * Municipalities in Norway that have a coast: 279 *Mainland coastline (with fjords and bays): *Island coastline: *Total coastline (mainland and islands): *Number of islands: 239,057 *Number of skerries: 81,192

Gallery

File:Tjøme Sandø c.JPG, Low tide at Sandø in

Færder Færder is a municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Borgheim. The municipality was established in 2018 by the unification of the former municipalities of ...

File:Utsira hamn3.jpg, ''Sørevågen'' (South Bay) at

Utsira Utsira () is the smallest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. The island municipality is located in northwestern Rogaland Counties of Norway, county, just off the western coast of Norway. Utsira is part of the Districts of ...

in Rogaland File:Storvika-fra-skaret-2009-08-18.jpg, ''Storvik'' (Big Bay) in

Gildeskål Gildeskål is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Bodø Region and the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Inndyr. Other villages include Forstranda, Lekange ...

File:Bleik_village_and_Bleik_island,_seen_from_Mount_Royken.jpg,

Bleik Bleik is a fishing village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the northwestern part of the island of Andøya, about southwest of the village of Andenes is the administrative centre of Andøy Municip ...

Andøya Andøya is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about inside the Arctic circle. Andøya is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The main population centres on the island include the villages of ...

References

{{reflist Coasts of Norway