Marka is the name of the forested and hilly areas surrounding

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

. It includes areas within the municipality of Oslo, but also large areas in Hole, Ringerike, Jevnaker, Lunner,

Nittedal Nittedal is a municipality and city in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rotnes. The parish of ''Nitedal'' was established as a m ...

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

Asker Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greater Asker) in Viken county, ...

, and other municipalities in

Viken Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...

county. The name is actually just the finite form of ''mark'' ( Norse ''mǫrk'' f) 'woodland, forest'. (See also

Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbour ...

, Hedmark,

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

, Marker and

Aremark Aremark is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fosby. Aremark was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The new municipality of Øymark wa ...

.) Though not designated a borough of Oslo, it is a major recreational area for the population of Oslo, and development in the area is for the most part prohibited. Despite being used frequently by many inhabitants of Oslo, especially at weekends, the fauna of ''marka'' includes species such as

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, ...

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

and

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

. The term Oslomarka is usually used for all the recreational areas around Oslo. Marka is the administrative name for the part of it that lies inside the city limits. Neighboring municipalities (most of which lie in

) do not have the same kind of administrative division as Oslo, and thus do not have any separate administrative arrangement for their parts of the area. The area within Oslo municipality is divided into two parts. The population and agricultural areas of Marka are located mainly in two valleys,

Sørkedalen Sørkedalen is a valley located in the northwestern part of Oslo municipality, northwest of Oslo's western suburbs, in Norway. The valley stretches from the suburb of Røa to Skansebakken. The valley is frequently used as an entry point to Nor ...

and Maridalen.

Oslomarka is further divided into: *Kjekstadmarka *

Vestmarka Vestmarka is a forested and hilly area in Asker, Bærum and Lier which constitutes part of Oslomarka, Norway. The land is owned by Løvenskiold Vækerø and is a popular recreational area. It was the site of Braathens SAFE Flight 239 Braathe ...

Krokskogen Krokskogen is a forested area which located outside of Oslo, Norway. It is a part of Oslomarka and is situated between Bærumsmarka, Vestmarka and Nordmarka. The wooded and hilly area of around 300 square kilometres is bordered by Oslo and by ...

Bærumsmarka Bærumsmarka is a forested recreational area located outside Oslo, Norway. The area constitutes part of Oslomarka and is bordered by Krokskogen and Nordmarka. Bærumsmarka is in the Bærum municipality of Viken Viken may refer to: * Viken, Scan ...

Nordmarka Nordmarka is the mostly forested region which makes up the northern part of Oslo, Norway. Nordmarka is the largest and most central part of Oslomarka. The area called Nordmarka also extends into the municipalities of Hole, Ringerike, Lunner, Je ...

*Romeriksåsen *

Lillomarka Lillomarka is an area located to the northeast of Oslo, Norway. It is a part of Oslomarka and serves as a popular recreational area. Lillomarka is bordered by Maridalen and Nordmarka in the west, Nittedal and Gjelleråsen in the east, the subu ...

* Gjelleråsen * Østmarka *Sørmarka Of these, Vestmarka, Kjekstadmarka, Romeriksåsene, Follomarka and Sørmarka lie almost entirely outside the city limits.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Boroughs of Oslo Geography of Oslo Forests and woodlands of Norway