Åkrafjorden is a
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, Icel ...
in
Vestland
Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the cit ...
county,
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 is located in the municipalities of
Etne and
Kvinnherad. The long fjord reaches a maximum depth of . The fjord flows from the southern part of the
Folgefonna National Park, draining the huge
Folgefonna 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 over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...
. The fjord then flows to the southwest before emptying into the
Skånevikfjorden
Skånevikfjorden is a fjord in Norway. The long fjord runs through Etne and Kvinnherad municipalities in Vestland county and in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county. The fjord is fed by several smaller fjords such as the Åkrafjorden, Etn ...
near the village of
Utåker. The
Langfossen waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in several ...
runs down the steep cliffs on the south side of the fjord, just west of Fjæra.
The village of
Fjæra lies at the innermost end of the Åkrafjorden and the village of
Åkra
Åkra is a former municipality in the traditional district of Haugaland in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1892 until 1965 and it encompassed the central part of the western coast of the island of Karmøy. The administ ...
lies on the northern shore of the fjord, about mid-way through the fjord. The
European route E134 highway runs along the southern shore of the fjord, and due to the steep mountainsides along the fjord, there are several long tunnels as part of the E134 highway that go through the mountains rather than along the shore. The tunnels include the
Åkrafjord Tunnel
The Åkrafjord Tunnel ( no, Åkrafjordtunnelen) is a road tunnel in Etne municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The long tunnel is located on the European route E134 highway, on the southeastern side of the Åkrafjorden, about northeast of t ...
,
Fjæra Tunnel, and
Markhus Tunnel
The Markhus Tunnel ( no, Markhustunnelen) is a road tunnel in Etne municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The long tunnel is located on the European route E134 highway on the southern shore of the Åkrafjorden, about southwest of the village ...
.
See also
*
List of Norwegian fjords
This list of Norwegian fjords shows many of the fjords in Norway. In total, there are about 1,190 fjords in Norway and the Svalbard islands. The sortable list includes the lengths and locations of those fjords.
Fjords
See also
* List of glac ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aakrafjorden
Fjords of Vestland
Etne
Kvinnherad