Ofoten is a traditional district in

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

county in

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...

. It consists of the municipalities of

Tysfjord Tysfjord ( smj, Divtasvuodna) is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1869 until its dissolution in 2020. The municipality was part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of th ...

Ballangen Ballangen ( sme, Bálák) is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1925 until its dissolution in 2020. The municipality was part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of th ...

Evenes Evenes ( sme, Evenášši) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bogen. Other villages in Evenes include Liland, Tårst ...

Tjeldsund Tjeldsund ( sme, Dielddanuorri) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The southwestern part of the municipality is part of the traditional district of Ofoten and the rest of the municipality is part of Central Hålogaland. The ...

Narvik ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...

, and

Lødingen Lødingen ( sme, Lodegat) is a municipality in Nordland county in Norway. Lødingen is located on the southeastern corner of the island of Hinnøya, and is part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municipali ...

. It is named after the main fjord,

Ofotfjorden Ofotfjord ( or ) is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. It is an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, located about north of the Arctic Circle. The long Ofotfjord is Norway's 12th longest fjord and it is also the 18th deepest, with a maximum depth of . ...

, which is at the center of this district. The district was home to 29,968 residents in 2016, with almost half of the residents living in the town of Narvik. Beisfjorden01

Geography

Ofoten is characterized by

fjord 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, Ice ...

s surrounded by many

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

s with high, jagged peaks reaching up to in height. About 43% of the area lies above . Below elevations of there are

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s. Only 11% of the land is below an elevation of . The mountains are high especially in the east. In the interior parts of the municipality, there are a number of

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#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s, such as

Gihtsejiegŋa Gihtsejiegņa or Gihtsejiegŋa is one of the largest glaciers in mainland Norway. It is located in the municipality of Narvik in Nordland county, about southeast of the village of Kjøpsvik, on the border with Sweden. The name of the glacier co ...

, and also many lakes. Besides the

, there are a number of other

s that cut into the landscapes, often with steep shorelines. The traditional district of

Lofoten Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær ...

lies to the west of Ofoten, to the south is the traditional district of

Salten Salten is a traditional district in Nordland county, Norway. It includes the municipalities of Meløy, Gildeskål, Bodø, Beiarn, Saltdal, Fauske, Sørfold, Steigen, and Hamarøy. Salten covers an area of about and has a population (2016) ...

, to the east is northern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, and to the north is

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...

county.

History

The municipality of Ofoten was established on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January ...

). On 1 January 1884, the municipality ceased to exist when it was split into two municipalities: Ankenes (population: 1,734) and Evindnæs (population: 2,397).

Name

The district is named after

(

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

: ''Ófóti''). The meaning of the first element is unknown and the last element is derived from the Old Norse word ''fótr'' which means "

foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

". The oldest form of the name could have been ''Úffóti''. In this case, the first element is ''úfr'' which means "

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and femal ...

". The three inner branches of the Ofotfjord might have been compared with the three claws of an owl.

Media gallery

File:UK-NWE-Norway-2.jpg File:Норвегия_-_panoramio_(91).jpg, Niingen mountain, Bogen in Evenes File:Kulhornet_and_neighbor_mountains_from_Efjorddalen_in_Narvik,_Nordland,_Norway,_2018_September.jpg, View from Efjorddalen, Narvik File:Europastrasse Kreisverkehr E 6 und E 10.jpg,

Bjerkvik Bjerkvik is a village in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located at the end of Herjangsfjorden, an arm of Ofotfjorden. Bjerkvik sits less than south of the border of Troms county and about across the fjord from t ...

is an important road junction; E10 goes west to Lofoten and E6 goes north to

File:Narvik_IMG_3507_from_west.JPG, Aerial of Narvik seen from west

References

{{authority control Districts of Nordland

Geography

History

Name

Media gallery

See also

References