Nordfjorden is the sixth longest

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 ...

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 flows through the municipalities of

Stryn Stryn is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn. The municipality is located along the innermost part of ...

Gloppen Gloppen is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. Gloppen is generally subdivided into three areas: Hyen in the west, Gloppen in the center, and Breim in the east. Each of the ...

, Stad,

Bremanger Bremanger is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village of Svelgen is the administrative centre of the municipality. Other villages include Bremanger, Berle, Davik, Isane, Kalvåg, Svelgen, Rugsund, and Ålfoten. Bremanger is ...

, and

Kinn Kinn is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020. It is in the traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the only non-contiguous municipality in Norway since the municipality of ...

, and it is the central feature of the entire

Nordfjord Nordfjord ( en, Northern fjord—in contrast to Sunnfjord) is a traditional district of Norway. Geography The region is located in the northern part of Vestland county in Western Norway. It centers on the Nordfjorden and it comprises the muni ...

region which makes up the northern third of the county.

The long fjord stretches from

Husevågøy Husevågøy is an island in Kinn Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island is mountainous with few trees. The island lies in the mouth of the Nordfjorden, between the islands of Vågsøy and Bremangerlandet. In 2018, there were abo ...

island in Kinn Municipality to the village of Loen in

Stryn Municipality Stryn is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn. The municipality is located along the innermost part of t ...

. The fjord starts as runoff from the

Jostedalsbreen Jostedal Glacier or is the largest glacier in continental Europe. It is in Vestland county in Western Norway. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster, Sogndal, Sunnfjord, and Stryn. The highest peak in the area is Lodalskåpa at a ...

, Europe's largest mainland glacier, in the east and it flows west, emptying into the ocean just south of the

Stadlandet Stad or Stadlandet is a peninsula in Stad Municipality in the northwestern part of the Nordfjord district in Vestland county in Norway. The peninsula is considered the dividing point between the Norwegian Sea to the north and the North Sea ...

peninsula. The mouth of the fjord lies between the large islands of

Vågsøy Vågsøy is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The municipality's administrative center was the town Måløy. Other population centers in Vågsøy include ...

and

Bremangerlandet Bremangerlandet is an island in Bremanger Municipality in the traditional district of Nordfjord in Vestland county, Norway. The island is one of the largest islands in the county. The highest point on the island is the tall mountain Svartev ...

(with the smaller island of Husevågøy lying in the middle of the mouth). There are several smaller fjords which branch off the main Nordfjorden: Eidsfjorden, Ålfotfjorden,

Hyefjorden Hyefjorden is a fjord in Gloppen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The long Hyefjorden is relatively narrow with steep rock walls located close to the fjord on both sides. The west side is where impassable mountains plunge straight into t ...

, and Gloppefjorden. The fjord reaches a maximum-depth of near the mouth of the Eidsfjorden and also by the village of Bryggja.

Transportation

The fjord has no road or rail crossings, but it has three regular ferry crossings. There is an electric ferry from Anda to Lote as part of the

European route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other single road in Eur ...

highway, using 75

kWh A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bill ...

per crossing. Another crossing is from Isane to Stårheim. The final crossing is near the mouth of the fjord from the town of Måløy to Oldeide. This final crossing also includes a stop at the island of Husevågøy in the middle of the fjord.

Settlements

There are numerous old fishing communities located along the fjord that date back to pre-Viking times. Some of the notable population centers along the fjord include the town of

Måløy Måløy () is a town in the municipality of Kinn in Vestland county, Norway. Måløy is located on the southeastern side of the island of Vågsøy, about northeast of the village of Holvika and about south of the village of Raudeberg. The M ...

(near the north side of the mouth in Kinn), the villages of

Bryggja Bryggja is a village in southwestern part of Stad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the mainland, along the northern shore of the Nordfjorden. The village is located about east of the urban areas of Måløy– Dekn ...

and

Totland Totland is a village, civil parish and electoral ward on the Isle of Wight. Besides the village of Totland, the civil parish comprises the western tip of the Isle of Wight, and includes The Needles, Tennyson Down and the hamlet of Middleton. Th ...

(in Stad); Rugsund,

Davik Davik is a former municipality in the traditional district of Nordfjord in the old Sogn og Fjordane county (now Vestland), Norway. The former municipality existed from 1838 until 1964 and it encompassed all the lands surrounding the outer p ...

, and Ålfoten (in Bremanger);

Kjølsdalen Kjølsdalen is a village in the municipality of Stad in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern shore of the Nordfjorden, about west of the village of Stårheim and about east of the village of Bryggja (in Vågsøy Mun ...

Stårheim Stårheim (or ''Torvika'') is a village in the municipality of Stad in Vestland county, Norway. Stårheim is located in the central part of Stad Municipality on the north shore of the Nordfjorden, about west of the municipal center of Nordfjo ...

, Nordfjordeid, and

Lote Lote may refer to: Places * Lote, Norway, a village in Eid municipality, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway *Lote, India, an area in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra People *Denis Kiwanuka Lote (1938–2022), Ugandan Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop ...

(in Stad); Sandane and Gimmestad (in Gloppen); and Randabygda,

Utvik Utvik is a village in Stryn Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern shore of the Nordfjorden. The village lies about southwest of the village of Innvik and about north of the village of Byrkjelo (in G ...

Innvik Innvik is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1965. Innvik is located in the present-day Stryn Municipality in Vestland county, encompassing about the western third of the ...

, Roset,

Olden Olden may refer to: Places *Olden, Norway, a village in Stryn, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway *Olden, Missouri, an unincorporated community *Olden, Texas, a community in Eastland county, Texas, USA People *Charles Smith Olden, an American polit ...

, and Loen (in Stryn).

Media gallery

Panorama of Nordfjord.jpg, Panorama of the Nordfjord from the mountain Hoven. The lake Lovatnet can be seen in the left part of the image Nordfjorden.jpg, View of the Anda-Lote ferry crossing

References

{{authority control Fjords of Vestland Kinn Stad, Norway Bremanger Gloppen Stryn

Transportation

Settlements

Media gallery

See also

References