Vesterålen is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

and

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

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 ...

. It is located just north 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 ...

and west of

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the Harstad (town), town of Harstad, the most populous town in Centra ...

. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the archipelago. Vesterålen includes the municipalities of Andøy, Bø, Hadsel, Sortland, and Øksnes.

Name

The

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 ...

forms of the name were ' and ' (

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

). The first element is ' which means "

west West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

" and the last element is ' which means "(deep and narrow) sound" or "

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 ...

". The name describes the seaway west of the island of

Hinnøya Hinnøya is the fourth-largest island in Norway, and the largest outside the Svalbard archipelago. The lies just off the western coast of Northern Norway. The island sits on the border of Nordland and Troms og Finnmark counties. The western pa ...

. The old name of the seaway east of Hinnøya (now called Tjeldsundet) might have been ' (meaning "the eastern sound/strait").

Geography

Vesterålen consists of the municipalities of Andøy, Bø, Hadsel, Sortland, and Øksnes. According to some definitions, Lødingen is also included. Vesterålen is made up of several islands: Langøya, Andøya,

Hadseløya Hadseløya or Hadseløy is an island in Hadsel Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Vesterålen region on the north side of the Hadselfjorden. The town of Stokmarknes is situated on the northern shore of the island and t ...

, the western part of

, the northern part of Austvågøya and several smaller islands. The landscape is mountainous, but the mountains have a more rounded shape compared to the mountains in Lofoten. The towns and villages are situated on the coastal brim (''Strandflaten'') between the mountains and the fjords. There are also several lakes, such as

Alsvågvatnet Alsvågvatnet is a lake which lies in Øksnes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is on the island of Langøya in the Vesterålen archipelago. There is birch woodland and bogland nearby. The lake sits at an elevation of above sea leve ...

. Møysalen National Park is partly located in Vesterålen
website
. The climate in Vesterålen is

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...

, with mild winters considering this archipelago is well north of 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 ...

. Bø is the northernmost location in Norway with daily mean above in all winter months.

Transportation

Vesterålen is connected to the mainland and

Evenes airport Harstad/Narvik Airport ( no, Harstad/Narvik lufthavn; ) is an international airport located in Evenes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The airport serves the towns of Harstad and Narvik. It is co-located with Evenes Air Station of the R ...

by bridges. It is connected to Lofoten by ferry, although since the opening of the

Lofast Lofoten Mainland Connection ( no, Lofotens fastlandsforbindelse) or Lofast is a part of European route E10 that connects the Norwegian archipelago of Lofoten to the mainland, giving direct access to Lofoten from the surrounding municipalities. The c ...

road in December 2007, Lofoten can also be reached by road. The coastal steamer Hurtigruten calls at the ports of Stokmarknes, Sortland, and

Risøyhamn Risøyhamn is a village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern part of the island of Andøya. The island of Andøya is connected to the neighboring island of Hinnøya by the Andøy Bridge at Ri ...

in Vesterålen. There are two regional airports:

Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen Stokmarknes Airport ( no, Stokmarknes lufthavn; ) is an airport in Hadsel Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the island of Langøya, about northeast of the town of Stokmarknes and about southwest of the town of Sortland. ...

for small aircraft, and Andenes Airport on Andøya.

Economy

The population in Vesterålen as of 1 January 2004 was 30,648 according to

Statistisk Sentralbyrå Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

) The largest town is Sortland, but the regional hospital is in nearby Stokmarknes in Hadsel municipality. The Royal Norwegian Air Force has based all its

P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.

s feed in this area.

References

External links

Vesterålen group on FlickrAurora borealis (northern lights) picture from Bø in Vesterålen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesteralen Districts of Nordland Archipelagoes of Norway Landforms of Nordland Hadsel Sortland Øksnes Bø, Nordland Andøy