Saltfjellet is a

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 ...

area 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,

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 ...

that separates the two regions of

Helgeland Helgeland is the most southerly district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet mountains and Svartise ...

and

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) ...

. It is also a cultural border between the Southern and Central parts of

Sápmi (, smj, Sábme / Sámeednam, sma, Saepmie, sju, Sábmie, , , sjd, Са̄мь е̄ммьне, Saam' jiemm'n'e) is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi is in Northern and Eastern Europe and includes the ...

Geography and environment

The Saltfjell is one of the largest mountain ranges in Norway, and is also where the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

cuts through the country. This range is part of seven municipalities: The northern part is part of the municipalities of

Saltdal Saltdal ( sme, Sálát) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rognan. Other villages in Saltdal include Røkland and Løn ...

Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...

Beiarn Beiarn is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. Beiarn is also a part of the Bodø Region, a statistical metropolitan region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of ...

and

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 ...

, the western part is in the municipalities of

Meløy Meløy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørnes. Other villages include Eidbukta, Neverdal, Glomfjord, Halsa, Reipå, S ...

and

Rødøy Rødøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågaholmen. Other villages include Gjerøy, Jektvika, Kilboghamn, Melfjord ...

while the southern part is in

Rana Municipality Rana is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mo i Rana, ...

. The highest mountain is

Ølfjellet or is the highest mountain in the Saltfjellet mountain range in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the municipality of Saltdal roughly halfway between the lakes Nordre Bjøllåvatnet and Kjemåvatnet. The village of Lønsdal lies abou ...

at above sea level. The mountains stretch from the coast to the Swedish border. The

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 ...

Svartisen Svartisen is a collective term for two glaciers located in Nordland county in northern Norway. It is part of Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park, located in the Saltfjell mountain range. The glaciers are located in the municipalities of Beiarn, ...

is actually two glaciers, separated by the Glomdalen valley with the Glomåga river. Western Svartisen is the second largest glacier on the Norwegian mainland, and is part of the Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park. There are many other glaciers as well. A total of of the area is protected. Several long valleys radiate from the mountains, such as the

Dunderland Valley The Dunderland Valley ( no, Dunderlandsdalen, smj, Dunndaravuobme) is a valley in the municipality of Rana in Nordland county, Norway. It reaches from just below the eastern Saltfjellet plateau about south of the Arctic circle. The mountain ...

and

Blakkådalen or is a valley in the municipality of Rana in Nordland county, Norway. The valley is located on the eastern side of the Svartisen glacier, and partly within the Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park ( no, ...

going south from the mountains, and

and the Beiar Valley going northwards. The eastern part of the range forms a plateau with some gently sloping mountains, and this is where the road and railway crosses over Saltfjell. Both road and railway take advantage of the Dunderland Valley and the Saltdal valley to make the distance on the

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated alpine climate, harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alp ...

, which often sees snowstorms in winter, as short as possible. The western part is more alpine and steep, and this is where the engabreen glacier tongue of Western Svartisen almost reaches down to the fjord.

Transport

There are two main transport routes over the mountains: the

European Route E6 European route E6 ( no, Europavei 6, sv, Europaväg 6, or simply E6) is the main north-south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and t ...

highway and the

Nordland Line The Nordland Line ( no, Nordlandsbanen, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through the counties of Trøndelag (formerly Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trønd ...

. The E6 highway was opened in 1937 and was asphalted in 1972. Until 1968 the road was closed in the winter. The railway line was built over the mountain during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and opened in 1947.

Name

The mountain range is named after the

district, named after

Saltfjorden Saltfjorden or Saltenfjorden is a fjord in the municipalities of Bodø and Gildeskål in Nordland county, Norway. The long fjord begins around the Fleinvær islands; travels northeast past the islands of Sørarnøya, Sandhornøya, and Straumøya ...

(the Salt fjord). The last element is the finite form of ''fjell'' which means "mountain". File:Storglomvatnet from Holmvassdammen.JPG, Storglomvatnet (lake), with melting water from the Svartisen glacier File:Melfjord 01.JPG, Melfjorden in Rødøy in the distance; Saltfjell goes all the way to the coast, and has proven to be a barrier for flora and fauna, including

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 ...

and the

Viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...

. File:CargoNet Di 12 Euro 4000 Lønsdal - Bolna.jpg, Freight train on the Saltfjellet File:Bridge at Krokstrand A.JPG, Driving the E6 road from the south, the ascent starts near Krokstrand in the Dunderland Valley. File:Saltfjell-mountain-may.jpg, E6 road on Saltfjell, May 2011.

References

External links

Rana DNT Mountain cabins

Rødøy municipality:About Saltfjellet
with pictures {{authority control Landforms of Nordland Mountain ranges of Norway Rana, Norway Saltdal Beiarn Meløy Rødøy