Sørfold
Encyclopedia
Sørfold is a municipality
in Nordland
county
, Norway
. It is part of the Salten
traditional region
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Straumen
. The old municipality of Folden
was divided into Sørfold and Nordfold-Kjerringøy
on 1 January 1887.
fjord
(Old Norse
: Fold). The inner part of the fjord is divided into two arms Nordfolda ("the northern Folda") and Sørfolda ("the southern Folda"). The meaning of the fjord name is unknown (maybe "the broad one").
is from modern times. They were granted on 24 April 1987. The arms show a wheel of a turbine
in a hydroelectric power plant
. The streams around the municipality contained many rapid
s and waterfall
s, which are partly harnessed to generate electricity
. This has provided a major source of income for the community.
Sørfold municipality is located about 120 km north of the Arctic circle
. The district's total land area is 1661.6 square kilometre, of which 141 square kilometre is covered with permanent ice
and snow
, and only 265.8 square kilometre lies below the 150-meter contour line
. The total length of coastline is 249 kilometres (155 mi). In 1987, only 3.2 square kilometre was being farmed. To the north of Sørfold is Hamarøy
and to the south is Fauske
municipality. To the east, the municipality borders to Sweden and the Swedish municipality of Jokkmokk
.
Rago National Park
, with its wild nature dominated by bare rock, streams, and pine forest
, is located in Sørfold. The glacier Blåmannsisen
, one of the largest in Norway, is partly located in the municipality. There are several nature reserve
s. Veikdalen nature reserve, roughly 300 meters above sea level, protects a largely undisturbed pine
and birch
forest (some logging before 1918) with many standing dead pine trees.
The small village of Mørsvikbotten is located in the north of the district. Mørsvikbotten has a school, a grocery shop, a small church, an aquaculture
co-op, and a few camping sites. Five kilometers north of Mørsvikbotten lies the lake Mørsvikvatnet
. In this area, Mørsry, the German
army had a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II
housing mostly Russia
n POWs. They were building a railway, which was intended to be a link between Fauske
and Narvik
. Some ruins of the camp, the foundations of the railway line, a tunnel, and roads can still be observed. A small, now empty, cemetery for fallen Russian soldiers is located close to the camp, 50 meters on the left-hand side just before the single concrete bridge. Other lakes are Andkjelvatnet
, Grovatnet
, Sildhopvatnet
and Trollvatnet
.
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
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
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
, Norway
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...
. It is part of the Salten
Salten
Salten is a district in Nordland in North Norway, consisting of the municipalities Meløy, Gildeskål, Bodø, Beiarn, Saltdal, Fauske, Sørfold, Steigen and Hamarøy. The district borders Helgeland in the south , Ofoten in the north, Sweden in the east and Vestfjorden in the west...
traditional region
Districts of Norway
The country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Straumen
Straumen, Nordland
Straumen is the administrative centre of Sørfold municipality, Norway. Its population is 827....
. The old municipality of Folden
Folden
Folden is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway.It was created as Folden formannskapsdistrikt in 1837.Folden existed until January 1, 1887, when it was split to form two new municipalities: Nordfold-Kjerringøy and Sørfold. Before the partition Folden had a population of 3.293....
was divided into Sørfold and Nordfold-Kjerringøy
Nordfold-Kjerringøy
Nordfold-Kjerringøy is a former municipality in Nordland county, Norway.It was created when Folden was split into Nordfold-Kjerringøy and Sørfold on 1 January 1887. At that time Nordfold-Kjerringøy had a population of 1.347...
on 1 January 1887.
General information
Name
The municipality is named after the FoldaFolda, Nordland
Folda is a fiord in Nordland county, Norway, within the Steigen and Sørfold municipalities. It empties into the Vestfjord about 25 miles northeast of Bodø. It splits into two inland branches, the Nordfolda and Sørfolda....
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...
(Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
: Fold). The inner part of the fjord is divided into two arms Nordfolda ("the northern Folda") and Sørfolda ("the southern Folda"). The meaning of the fjord name is unknown (maybe "the broad one").
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is from modern times. They were granted on 24 April 1987. The arms show a wheel of a turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
in a hydroelectric power plant
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
. The streams around the municipality contained many rapid
Rapid
A rapid is a section of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. A rapid is a hydrological feature between a run and a cascade. A rapid is characterised by the river becoming shallower and having some rocks exposed above the...
s and waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s, which are partly harnessed to generate electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. This has provided a major source of income for the community.
Geography
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
. The district's total land area is 1661.6 square kilometre, of which 141 square kilometre is covered with permanent ice
Ice
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
and snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
, and only 265.8 square kilometre lies below the 150-meter contour line
Contour line
A contour line of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value. In cartography, a contour line joins points of equal elevation above a given level, such as mean sea level...
. The total length of coastline is 249 kilometres (155 mi). In 1987, only 3.2 square kilometre was being farmed. To the north of Sørfold is Hamarøy
Hamarøy
Hamarøy is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Oppeid...
and to the south is Fauske
Fauske
is a town and municipality located in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Fauske with approximately 6,000 inhabitants....
municipality. To the east, the municipality borders to Sweden and the Swedish municipality of Jokkmokk
Jokkmokk Municipality
Jokkmokk Municipality is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Jokkmokk.The name Jokkmokk is Sami for the words "river" and "bend", since the town is situated close to a bend in the nearby river....
.
Rago National Park
Rago National Park
Rago National Park is a national park in Sørfold municipality in the county of Nordland, Norway. Rago borders Sweden's Padjelanta National Park. When its 167 km² in area is combined with adjacent protected areas for a total area of 5700 km², they create the largest protected area in Europe.The...
, with its wild nature dominated by bare rock, streams, and pine forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
, is located in Sørfold. The glacier Blåmannsisen
Blåmannsisen
Blåmannsisen is the fifth largest glacier in mainland Norway.Its highest point is above sea level and its lowest point is . Three outlet glaciers extend from the icecap. A small outlet spills over a subglacial ridge to the north damming an unnamed lake resulting in occasion outburst floods. To...
, one of the largest in Norway, is partly located in the municipality. There are several nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
s. Veikdalen nature reserve, roughly 300 meters above sea level, protects a largely undisturbed pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
and birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
forest (some logging before 1918) with many standing dead pine trees.
The small village of Mørsvikbotten is located in the north of the district. Mørsvikbotten has a school, a grocery shop, a small church, an aquaculture
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
co-op, and a few camping sites. Five kilometers north of Mørsvikbotten lies the lake Mørsvikvatnet
Mørsvikvatnet
Mørsvikvatnet is a lake located in Sørfold municipality in Nordland, Norway. The E6 road goes along its western edge....
. In this area, Mørsry, the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
army had a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
housing mostly Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n POWs. They were building a railway, which was intended to be a link between Fauske
Fauske
is a town and municipality located in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Fauske with approximately 6,000 inhabitants....
and Narvik
Narvik
is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
. Some ruins of the camp, the foundations of the railway line, a tunnel, and roads can still be observed. A small, now empty, cemetery for fallen Russian soldiers is located close to the camp, 50 meters on the left-hand side just before the single concrete bridge. Other lakes are Andkjelvatnet
Andkjelvatnet
Andkjelvatnet is a Norwegian lake which lies in Sørfold municipality in Nordland....
, Grovatnet
Grovatnet
Grovatnet is a Norwegian lake that lies in Sørfold municipality in Nordland....
, Sildhopvatnet
Sildhopvatnet
Sildhopvatnet is a Norwegian lake that lies in Sørfold municipality in Nordland....
and Trollvatnet
Trollvatnet
Trollvatnet is a Norwegian lake that lies in Sørfold municipality in Nordland....
.