Ã…krafjorden is a
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...
in
Vestland
Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. It is located in the municipalities of
Etne
Etne is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland, although it is also sometimes considered to be part of the district o ...
and
Kvinnherad
Kvinnherad is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in siz ...
. The long fjord reaches a maximum depth of . The fjord flows from the southern part of the
Folgefonna National Park, draining the huge
Folgefonna
Folgefonna is a collective term for three plateau glaciers in the Hardanger region of Vestland county, Norway. They are located on the Folgefonna peninsula in the municipalities of Ullensvang, Kvinnherad, and Etne. The three glaciers are:
* ...
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
. The fjord then flows to the southwest before emptying into the
Skånevikfjorden near the village of
Utåker. The
Langfossen waterfall
A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge
of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...
runs down the steep cliffs on the south side of the fjord, just west of Fjæra.
The village of
Fjæra
Fjæra (historically called ''Åkrabotn'') is a village in Etne municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located at the innermost end of the Åkrafjorden, at the mouth of Fjæraelva (Fjæra River). The European route E134 highwa ...
lies at the innermost end of the Ã…krafjorden and the village of
Ã…kra lies on the northern shore of the fjord, about mid-way through the fjord. The
European route E134
European route E134 () is a International E-road network, European highway that crosses Norway starting at Haugesund Airport, Karmøy near the city of Haugesund on the west coast, heading over Haukeli, passing the city of Drammen, and ending in V ...
highway runs along the southern shore of the fjord, and due to the steep mountainsides along the fjord, there are several long tunnels as part of the E134 highway that go through the mountains rather than along the shore. The tunnels include the
Ã…krafjord Tunnel,
Fjæra Tunnel, and
Markhus Tunnel.
See also
*
List of Norwegian fjords
This list of Norwegian fjords shows many of the fjords in Norway. In total, there are about 1,190 fjords in Norway and the Svalbard islands. The sortable list includes the lengths and locations of those fjords.
Fjords
See also
* List of gla ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aakrafjorden
Fjords of Vestland
Etne
Kvinnherad