or 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 ...
(more accurately, a
strait
A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...
) in
Troms
Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...
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 flows through the municipalities of
Salangen,
Gratangen,
Ibestad Ibestad may refer to:
Places
*Ibestad Municipality, a municipality in Troms county, Norway
*''Ibestad'', also known as Hamnvik, a village within Ibestad Municipality in Troms county, Norway
*Ibestad Church, a church in Ibestad Municipality in Troms ...
, and
Tjeldsund. The long fjord flows from the
Salangen fjord in the east to the
Vågsfjorden in the west. The wide fjord separates the islands of
Andørja and
Rolla from the mainland. There are several small fjords that branch off this fjord including:
Lavangen,
Gratangen,
Grovfjorden, and
Salangen.
Name
The fjord (and the historic
Astafjord Municipality
Astafjord is a Former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Troms Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1926 until its dissolution in 1964. The area now makes up the eastern part of Tjeldsund Municipality, ...
) were named after the old ''Ånstad'' farm (). The first element of the old name comes from the male name ''Arna'' or "Arne", the second element means "home" or "
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
", and the last element is identical with the word for "
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 ...
". Thus, the name literally means the "fjord by Arne's farm".
Another possible explanation for the origin of the name of the Astafjord in Troms might be that it was named after Queen Asta, mother of King "Hellige" Olav in the 11th century who allegedly brought Christianity to Norway.
See also
*
List of Norwegian fjords
References
Fjords of Troms
Tjeldsund
Ibestad
Gratangen
Salangen
{{Norway-fjord-stub