Førde Fjord () is a
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...
in
Vestland
Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...
county, Norway. It is the longest of all the fjords in the
traditional district of
Sunnfjord. Førdefjorden passes through the municipalities of
Sunnfjord,
Askvoll, and
Kinn
Kinn is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020. It is in the traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the only non-contiguous municipality in Norway since the municipality ...
. The fjord begins at the town of
Førde, at the estuary of the river
Jølstra, which comes from the lake
Jølstravatn. The island of
Svanøya lies just outside the mouth of Førdefjorden. There are roads along the shoreline on both the north and south sides of the fjord, and the
European route E39
European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim (city), Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other ...
highway runs past the town of Førde, near Førdefjorden.
Development of mining industry
Nordic Mining have applied to deposit 6
Mt of tailings a year for 50 years into the Fjord, prompting much opposition. In May 2022, permission was granted; however, an operations plan
as not yet been approvedby
Directorate of Mining (as of Q2 2022).
s of 2021Nordic Mining is permitted to dump 9 tonnes of chemical waste into the fjord per year, including 2 tonnes of SIBX (sodium isobutyl xanthate).
s of January 2024After a 15-year dispute, Nordic Mining has been given the go-ahead to dispose of 170 megatonnes of mining waste at the bottom of the Førde fjord. Before, the government had won a court case against environmental organisations who had tried to block the disposal.
''Norway to allow mining waste to be dumped in fjords''
/ref>
Settlements
The following settlements are located along the Førdefjorden:
* Stavang (in Flora municipality), on the north side, at the mouth of the fjord
* Kvammen (in Askvoll municipality), on the south side, near the mouth of the fjord
* Indrevevring (in Naustdal municipality), on the north side, a little ways into the fjord
* Helle (in Naustdal municipality), on the north side, about the middle of the fjord
* Naustdal (the administrative centre of Naustdal municipality), on the north side, near the inner part of the fjord
* Førde (the adm. centre of Førde municipality), at the innermost part of the fjord
Media gallery
File:Askvoll gjelsvik.jpg, Gjelsvik by Førdefjorden
File:Førdefjorden - August 2.JPG, View of Førdefjorden towards southwest
File:Førdefjorden - August.JPG, View of Førdefjorden towards southeast
See also
* List of Norwegian fjords
References
Fjords of Vestland
Sunnfjord
Askvoll
Kinn
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