Karmsund is a strait located in Rogaland 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 the ...

. The long strait separates the island of Karmøy on the west and the mainland of Norway and island of Vestre Bokn in the east. The strait runs through the municipalities of Haugesund,

Karmøy Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is southwest of the town of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kopervik. Most of the municipality lies on ...

, and Bokn. The town of Haugesund lies at the northern end of the strait and the town of

Kopervik Kopervik is the largest town on the island of Karmøy in Rogaland county, Norway. It is also the administrative centre of the municipality of Karmøy. It is part of the traditional district of Haugaland. The town was also an independent municipa ...

lies in the central part of the strait, and the town of

Skudeneshavn (also known as Skudeneshamn or simply Skudenes) is a town in Karmøy municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located on the southernmost tip of the island of Karmøy at the entrance to the Boknafjorden and Karmsundet strait. The town is ...

lies near the southern end where the strait flows into the Boknafjorden. The Karmsund Bridge, a part of the

European route E134 European highway E 134 ( no, Europavei 134) is a European highway that crosses Norway starting at Haugesund Airport, Karmøy near the city of Haugesund on the west coast, heading over Haukeli, passing the city of Drammen, and ending in Vas ...

highway, links Karmøy to the mainland. The bridge was completed in 1955. The small islands of

Vibrandsøy Vibrandsøy or Vibrandsøya is an island in Haugesund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island lies west of the densely built-up island of Hasseløy and northwest of the island of Risøy in the town of Haugesund. The island is now u ...

Risøy Risøy or Risøya is an island in Haugesund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island lies in the Karmsund strait immediately south of the island of Hasseløy and southeast of the island of Vibrandsøy. Risøy is part of the town of ...

, and

Hasseløy Hasseløy is an island in Haugesund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island lies north of the island Risøy, south of the peninsula Killingøy, and between Vibrandsøy to the west and the mainland to the east. It is part of the tow ...

lie in the strait at the northern end, just off shore from the town of Haugesund. Near the

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around the world a ...

Factory on Karmøy, there are three powerlines that cross the Karmsund on tall electricity pylons, which are the tallest in Norway. A local newspaper in this area is named after the strait: ''Karmsund Avis''.

History

The

eddic "Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been attributed by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poem ...

poem ''

Grímnismál ''Grímnismál'' (Old Norse: ; 'The Lay of Grímnir') is one of the mythological poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript and the AM 748 I 4to fragment. It is spoken through the voice of ''Grímnir'', one of ...

'' says that

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

, the weather god, wades the straits at Karmsund every morning on his way to

Yggdrasil Yggdrasil (from Old Norse ), in Norse cosmology, is an immense and central sacred tree. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional ...

, the tree of life. Standing above Karmsund, near Haugesund, is

Haraldshaugen Haraldshaugen (Norwegian: ''Riksmonumentet Haraldshaugen'') is a national monument in Haugesund, Norway. The monument was erected during the millennial celebration of Norway's unification into one kingdom under the rule of King Harald Fairhair (N ...

, a monument commemorating the traditional burial site for several early Norwegian rulers, including Harald I. The professor in

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

Magnus Olsen wrote that the name of the country

, which means the northbound route, refers to the inner-archipelago sailing route, which begins at Karmsund, and originally to the southernmost part of this sailing route, the home area of

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...

, the first king of Norway.

References

Straits of Norway Landforms of Rogaland Haugesund Karmøy Bokn {{Rogaland-geo-stub