Lomsdal–Visten National Park
Encyclopedia
Lomsdal–Visten National Park ( or ) is a Norwegian
national park that was established on 26 June 2009. The park consists of a total protected area of 1102 square kilometres (425.5 sq mi). It is located in Nordland
county, Norway, and covers parts of the municipalities of Brønnøy
, Vevelstad
, Grane, and Vefsn
.
The landscape is dominated by great diversity and many rivers. There are steep-sided fjord
s with deciduous woodlands, coniferous forests, mountainous terrains, and alpine peaks. The rich and varied geology was another reason for protecting the area. Karstic terrain with caves, subterranean river
s, arches
, and unusual weathering are found here.
period (8000-9000 years ago) up to the present
day. Traces of Sámi culture can be found in the national park dating from the time when the Sámi
were hunters
and gatherers up to their modern semi-domesticated reindeer husbandry.
Farms that were abandoned due to the Black Death
were re-cleared from 1500-1800 by ethnic Norwegians who expanded into the Sámi areas. They cleared farms along the fjords, the larger valleys, and far into the mountains. Traces of how they used the area can be seen near the farms and on outlying land.
The Second World War also left its mark in the Lomsdal-Visten area, and an annual march goes from inner Visten to Eiterådalen to commemorate wartime events.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
national park that was established on 26 June 2009. The park consists of a total protected area of 1102 square kilometres (425.5 sq mi). It is located in Nordland
Nordland
is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...
county, Norway, and covers parts of the municipalities of Brønnøy
Brønnøy
Brønnøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland region. The administrative and commercial centre is the town of Brønnøysund. A secondary centre is the village of Hommelstø. Other villages include Tosbotn, Lande, Trælnes, and Indreskomo.The Brønnøysund Register...
, Vevelstad
Vevelstad
Vevelstad is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Forvika. -General information:...
, Grane, and Vefsn
Vefsn
Vefsn is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mosjøen....
.
The landscape is dominated by great diversity and many rivers. There are steep-sided fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
s with deciduous woodlands, coniferous forests, mountainous terrains, and alpine peaks. The rich and varied geology was another reason for protecting the area. Karstic terrain with caves, subterranean river
Subterranean river
A subterranean river is a river that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground surface – one where the riverbed does not represent the surface of the Earth ....
s, arches
Natural arch
A natural arch or natural bridge is a natural geological formation where a rock arch forms, with an opening underneath. Most natural arches form as a narrow ridge, walled by cliffs, become narrower from erosion, with a softer rock stratum under the cliff-forming stratum gradually eroding out until...
, and unusual weathering are found here.
History
Cultural heritage relics have been found that date from the MesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
period (8000-9000 years ago) up to the present
day. Traces of Sámi culture can be found in the national park dating from the time when the Sámi
SAMI
SAMI is a Microsoft accessibility initiative released in 1998. The structured markup language is designed to simplify creating captions for media playback on a PC, i.e. not for broadcast purposes....
were hunters
and gatherers up to their modern semi-domesticated reindeer husbandry.
Farms that were abandoned due to the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
were re-cleared from 1500-1800 by ethnic Norwegians who expanded into the Sámi areas. They cleared farms along the fjords, the larger valleys, and far into the mountains. Traces of how they used the area can be seen near the farms and on outlying land.
The Second World War also left its mark in the Lomsdal-Visten area, and an annual march goes from inner Visten to Eiterådalen to commemorate wartime events.