Møysalen National Park ( no, Møysalen nasjonalpark) is a national park located on 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 ...

in Nordland 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 park was established in 2003 to preserve undisturbed coastal alpine landscape. The scenery is characterized by peaks jutting out of the ocean and fjords, the highest point is the tall Møysalen mountain. The park mostly lies in

Lødingen Municipality Lødingen ( sme, Lodegat) is a municipality in Nordland county in Norway. Lødingen is located on the southeastern corner of the island of Hinnøya, and is part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municip ...

, but the far northern part crosses over into

Sortland Municipality or is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sortland. Other population centres in Sortland include Bø, Holand, Holmsta ...

. The park is largely undisturbed from its natural state. This is one of very few national parks in Norway that goes all the way down to sea level; the ''Vestpollen'' fjord branch of the Øksfjorden is included inside the national park. The park thus also includes areas with undisturbed

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

forest in addition to the mountains. There are many

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich Groundwater, ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as ...

s and bogs in the park, but most are not large. The steep mountains and rich seashores nearby with many seabirds, as well as populations of rodents, provide good hunting areas for several species of predatory birds including white tailed eagle,

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

gyrfalcon The gyrfalcon ( or ) (), the largest of the falcon species, is a bird of prey. The abbreviation gyr is also used. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region. It is mainly a resid ...

, and peregrine falcon. A number of other rare and endangered birds of prey breed in the park, including

kestrels The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviou ...

, merlins, and

rough-legged buzzard The rough-legged buzzard or rough-legged hawk (''Buteo lagopus'') is a medium-large bird of prey. It is found in Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America, Europe, and Russia during the breeding season and migrates south for the winter. It ...

s. The animal life is typical for this part of Nordland county. The

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...

, regarded as a vulnerable species in Norway as a whole, is common here. The area around the Øksfjorden is a core area for

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

on Hinnøya island. Other common species are hares, red foxes,

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Conc ...

s and

American mink The American mink (''Neogale vison'') is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe, Asia and South America. Because of range expansion, the American mink i ...

References

External links

Directorate for Nature Management: About Møysalen National Park
with pictures
Map over Møysalen National ParkMøysalen National Park website
National parks of Norway Protected areas of Nordland Protected areas of the Arctic Protected areas established in 2003 Tourist attractions in Nordland Lødingen Vesterålen 2003 establishments in Norway {{Europe-protected-area-stub