The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from the municipality of Ørland in the west to the municipality of Steinkjer in the north, passing the city of Trondheim on its way. Its maximum depth is , between Orkland and Indre Fosen. The largest islands in the fjord are Ytterøya and Tautra; the small island of Munkholmen is located near the harbor of Trondheim; and there are several islands at the entrance of the fjord. The narrow ''Skarnsundet'' is crossed by the Skarnsund Bridge. The part of the fjord to the north of the

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

is referred to as the '' Beitstadfjorden''. The main part of the Trondheimsfjord is ice-free all year; only Verrasundet, a long and narrow fjord branch in the northern part of the fjord, might be ice covered in winter. The Beitstadfjorden might also freeze over in winter, but only for a few weeks. The towns of

Stjørdalshalsen Stjørdalshalsen (also known as Stjørdal or Halsen) is a town and the administrative centre of the municipality of Stjørdal in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located between the rivers Stjørdalselva and Gråelva to the south and north and ...

, Levanger, and Steinkjer are found on the eastern and northeastern shores of the fjord.

Aker Verdal Aker Verdal AS formerly known as Aker Kværner Verdal is a construction yard for large steel constructions and substructures for offshore oil platforms. The yard is owned by Kvaerner and is located in Verdal in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. T ...

in Verdal produces large

offshore installations Offshore may refer to: Science and technology * Offshore (hydrocarbons) * Offshore construction, construction out at sea * Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well * O ...

for the petroleum sector. A yard in Indre Fosen completed the luxurious apartment ship ''

MS The World MS ''The World'' is a private residential cruise ship operated like a condominium complex, with large apartments that can be purchased. The residents, from many countries, can live on board as the ship travels. Some residents choose to live on ...

''. Fiborgtangen is a peninsula along the eastern shore of the fjord where a large

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

owned by Norske Skog is located. The Trondheimsfjord has rich

marine life Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plants, animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. M ...

, with both southern and northern species; at least 90 species of fish have been observed, and the fjord has the largest biological production among Norway's fjords. In recent years, deep water corals (''

Lophelia pertusa ''Lophelia pertusa'', the only species in the genus ''Lophelia'', is a cold-water coral that grows in the deep waters throughout the North Atlantic ocean, as well as parts of the Caribbean Sea and Alboran Sea. Although ''L. pertusa'' reefs are ...

'') were discovered in the fjord, not far from the city of Trondheim. Several of the best salmon rivers in Norway empty into the fjord. Among these are the rivers

Gaula Gaula or GAULA may refer to: Places * Gaula (Madeira), a civil parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz in the island of Madeira in Portugal * Gaula (Trøndelag), a river in Trøndelag county in Norway * ''Gaula river valley'' or Gauldalen, a vall ...

(in Orkland just south of Trondheim),

Orklaelva Orkla is a river in Trøndelag and Innlandet counties in Norway. At in length, it is the longest river in Trøndelag county. The river follows the Orkdalen valley, discharging into the Orkdal Fjord, an arm of the large Trondheimsfjorden, at the ...

(also in Orkland), Stjørdalselva (in Stjørdal), and Verdalselva (in Verdal). The lowland east and south of the fjord represents one of Norway's best

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

areas. The more rugged and mountainous

Fosen Fosen is a traditional district in Trøndelag, consisting of the municipalities Osen, Roan Åfjord, Ørland, Indre Fosen, Orkland, Heim, Hitra and Frøya. The district is dominated by forested valleys, lakes, coastal cliffs but also shallow a ...

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

lies to the west and northwest, giving some shelter from the wind common to coastal areas. The Trondheimsfjord was an important waterway in the Viking Age, as it is still today. In 1888, an undersea

mudslide A mudflow or mud flow is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/second. Mudflows contain a significa ...

caused a tsunami that killed one person in Trondheim and ruptured three railway lines. Four giant squid have been found in the fjord, which is among the highest concentrations in the world.

Name

The fjord is named after the city of Trondheim, but originally the name of the fjord might have been just ''*Þrónd'' or ''*Þróund'' in Old Norse. A name like that would be related to the verb ''þróast'', which means to 'thrive' or 'flourish' and the name ''Þrór'', which means 'likeable' or 'stoutish' (and was one of

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

's nicknames). If this is the case, then the people living around the fjord (the ''þrœndir''; see Trøndelag) named themselves after the fjord. (Compare ''sygnir'', which means 'the people living around the fjord Sogn'.)

Media gallery

Korsvika2 110606.jpg, Korsvika, eastern Trondheim, view towards north. Munkholmen og et fyr.jpg, Lighthouse and the island Munkholmen Aasenfiord.JPG, Åsenfjord, near Stjørdal. The

Tirpitz Tirpitz may refer to: * Alfred von Tirpitz (1849–1930), German admiral * German battleship ''Tirpitz'', a World War II-era Bismarck-class battleship named after the admiral * Tirpitz (pig), a pig rescued from the sinking of SMS ''Dresden'' and ...

was moored nearby during parts of World War II. 03 Trondheim fjord a (5669409042).jpg, Coastal farm area along the fjord. Skarnsundbrua-2016.jpg, Skarnsund Bridge, the only road crossing on the fjord. Nyhavna and Brattora, Trondheim 02.jpg, Harbour of Trondheim

References

External links

Norwegian Journal of Geology:The deglaciation of Trondheimsfjord

{{authority control Fjords of Trøndelag Geography of Trondheim Indre Fosen Ørland Orkland Skaun Malvik Stjørdal Frosta Levanger Verdal Steinkjer

Name

Media gallery

See also

References

External links