Ofoten is a traditional district in

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, ...

county in

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the lar ...

. It consists of the municipalities of Tysfjord, Ballangen, Evenes, Tjeldsund, Narvik, and Lødingen. It is named after the main fjord, Ofotfjorden, which is at the center of this district. The district was home to 29,968 residents in 2016, with almost half of the residents living in the town of Narvik. Beisfjorden01

Geography

Ofoten is characterized by

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 ...

s surrounded by many

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

s with high, jagged peaks reaching up to in height. About 43% of the area lies above . Below elevations of there are

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s. Only 11% of the land is below an elevation of . The mountains are high especially in the east. In the interior parts of the municipality, there are a number of

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 ...

s, such as Gihtsejiegŋa, and also many lakes. Besides the Ofotfjorden, there are a number of other

s that cut into the landscapes, often with steep shorelines. The traditional district 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, Svolv� ...

lies to the west of Ofoten, to the south is the traditional district of Salten, to the east is northern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, and to the north is Troms county.

History

The municipality of Ofoten was established on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () is the name for Norwegian local self-government districts that were legally enacted on 1 January 1838. This system of municipalities was created in a bill approved by the Parliament of Norway and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 Janu ...

). On 1 January 1884, the municipality ceased to exist when it was split into two municipalities:

Ankenes Ankenes is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1884 until 1974. It encompassed most of the present-day Narvik Municipality, surrounding of the town of Narvik which was once its own municipality. T ...

(population: 1,734) and Evindnæs (population: 2,397).

Name

The district is named after Ofotfjorden (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

: ''Ófóti''). The meaning of the first element is unknown and the last element is derived from the Old Norse word ''fótr'' which means "

foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg mad ...

". The oldest form of the name could have been ''Úffóti''. In this case, the first element is ''úfr'' which means " Eurasian eagle-owl". The three inner branches of the Ofotfjord might have been compared with the three claws of an owl.

Media gallery

File:UK-NWE-Norway-2.jpg File:Норвегия_-_panoramio_(91).jpg, Niingen mountain, Bogen in Evenes File:Kulhornet_and_neighbor_mountains_from_Efjorddalen_in_Narvik,_Nordland,_Norway,_2018_September.jpg, View from Efjorddalen, Narvik File:Europastrasse Kreisverkehr E 6 und E 10.jpg, Bjerkvik is an important road junction; E10 goes west to Lofoten and E6 goes north to Troms File:Narvik_IMG_3507_from_west.JPG, Aerial of Narvik seen from west

References

{{authority control Districts of Nordland

Geography

History

Name

Media gallery

See also

References