Vesterålen is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

and

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

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 ...

. It is located just north 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� ...

and west of

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogalan ...

. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the archipelago. Vesterålen includes the municipalities of

Andøy Andøy is the northernmost municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Vesterålen archipelago. The main island in the municipality is Andøya. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Andenes. Other villages ...

, Bø,

Hadsel Hadsel ( sme, Válafierda) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stokmarknes. Other villages in Hadsel include Fiskebø ...

Sortland 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, Holmstad, ...

, and

Øksnes Øksnes is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the northwestern part of the large island of Langøya, which is a part of the traditional region of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village ...

Name

The

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 settlemen ...

forms of the name were ' and ' (

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

). The first element is ' which means "

west West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

" and the last element is ' which means "(deep and narrow) sound" or " strait". The name describes the seaway west of the island of Hinnøya. The old name of the seaway east of Hinnøya (now called

Tjeldsundet Tjeldsundet is a strait in Northern Norway. The long strait is located between the island of Hinnøya and mainland Norway in its northern part and between Hinnøya and the island of Tjeldøya in its southern part. Tjeldsundet has been an importa ...

) might have been ' (meaning "the eastern sound/strait").

Geography

Vesterålen consists of the municipalities of

, Bø,

, and

. According to some definitions,

Lødingen 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 municipali ...

is also included. Vesterålen is made up of several islands:

Langøya Langøya is the third largest island of Norway (outside of Svalbard), with an area of . The island is a part of the Vesterålen archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. The island includes the municipalities of Bø and Øksnes as well as parts ...

Andøya Andøya is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about inside the Arctic circle. Andøya is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The main population centres on the island include the villages of ...

, Hadseløya, the western part of Hinnøya, the northern part of Austvågøya and several smaller islands. The landscape is mountainous, but the mountains have a more rounded shape compared to the mountains in Lofoten. The towns and villages are situated on the coastal brim (''Strandflaten'') between the mountains and the fjords. There are also several lakes, such as

Alsvågvatnet Alsvågvatnet is a lake which lies in Øksnes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is on the island of Langøya in the Vesterålen archipelago. There is birch woodland and bogland nearby. The lake sits at an elevation of above sea ...

Møysalen National Park Møysalen National Park ( no, Møysalen nasjonalpark) is a national park located on the island of Hinnøya in Nordland county, Norway. The park was established in 2003 to preserve undisturbed coastal alpine landscape. The scenery is character ...

is partly located in Vesterålen
website
. The climate in Vesterålen is

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...

, with mild winters considering this archipelago is well north of the arctic circle. Bø is the northernmost location in Norway with daily mean above in all winter months.

Transportation

Vesterålen is connected to the mainland and Evenes airport by bridges. It is connected to Lofoten by ferry, although since the opening of the

Lofast Lofoten Mainland Connection ( no, Lofotens fastlandsforbindelse) or Lofast is a part of European route E10 that connects the Norwegian archipelago of Lofoten to the mainland, giving direct access to Lofoten from the surrounding municipalities. The c ...

road in December 2007, Lofoten can also be reached by road. The coastal steamer

Hurtigruten ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen-Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports no ...

calls at the ports of Stokmarknes, Sortland, and

Risøyhamn Risøyhamn is a village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the southern part of the island of Andøya. The island of Andøya is connected to the neighboring island of Hinnøya by the Andøy Bridge at ...

in Vesterålen. There are two regional airports:

Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen Stokmarknes Airport ( no, Stokmarknes lufthavn; ) is an airport in Hadsel Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the island of Langøya, about northeast of the town of Stokmarknes and about southwest of the town of Sortlan ...

for small aircraft, and

Andenes Airport is the administrative centre of Andøy Municipality which is located in the Vesterålen district of Nordland county, Norway. The village of Andenes is the northernmost settlement of the island of Andøya (and in Nordland county). To the east i ...

on Andøya.

Economy

The population in Vesterålen as of 1 January 2004 was 30,648 according to Statistisk Sentralbyrå) The largest town is

, but the regional hospital is in nearby

Stokmarknes is a town and the administrative centre of Hadsel Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the northern coast of the island of Hadseløya and on the small, neighboring island of Børøya. In 2000, Stokmarknes received "town stat ...

in Hadsel municipality. The

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...

has based all its P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft at Andøya Air Station, and

Andøya Rocket Range Andøya is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about inside the Arctic circle. Andøya is located in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The main population centres on the island include the villages of ...

is also located at Andøya. The

Norwegian Coast Guard The Norwegian Coast Guard ( no, Kystvakten) is a maritime military force which is part of the Royal Norwegian Navy. The coast guard's responsibility are for fisheries inspection, customs enforcement, border control, law enforcement, shipping ...

has its northern base at

(Kystvaktskvadron Nord). Fishing, in particular

cod fisheries Cod fisheries are fisheries for cod. Cod is the common name for fish of the genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae, and this article is confined to three species that belong to this genus: the Atlantic cod, the Pacific cod and the Gr ...

, has always been important in Vesterålen. There is also

fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

, and some

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

in Vesterålen.

Media gallery

IMG 0612a - Landbruksskolen på Kleiva.jpg, The high school for agriculture at Kleiva, Sortland municipality Nyksund 01082004.jpg, Nyksund (1 August 2004) Fra Frøskeland mot Ræka - IMG 0316a.jpg, View towards Ræka, Sortland Aurora-borealis andoya.jpg, The

Aurora Borealis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

is visible in all of Vesterålen. Andøy, October 2007. Bleik village and Bleik island, seen from Mount Royken.jpg, The village of

Bleik Bleik is a fishing village in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The village is located on the northwestern part of the island of Andøya, about southwest of the village of Andenes is the administrative centre of Andøy Municip ...

in Andøy, with the long beach and a sea bird colony on the small island Bleiksøya. The deep ocean is very close to shore here, and sperm whales feed in this area.

References

External links

Vesterålen group on FlickrAurora borealis (northern lights) picture from Bø in Vesterålen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesteralen Districts of Nordland Archipelagoes of Norway Landforms of Nordland Hadsel Sortland Øksnes Bø, Nordland Andøy