Aurlandsfjord (, ) 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 ...

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 ...

. The fjord flows through the municipalities of

Aurland Aurland () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Vestland, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The administrativ ...

, Vik, and

Lærdal Lærdal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Lærdalsøyri. The old Filefjell Ko ...

. The long fjord is a branch off of the main

Sognefjorden The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, ), nicknamed the King of the Fjords (), is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the small village of Skjolden in the muni ...

, Norway's longest fjord. The fjord is deep and narrow, reaching a depth of about below sea level, and its width is generally less than wide. About south of the mouth of the fjord, the Nærøyfjord branches off from it to the west. The village of

Flåm Flåm () is a village in the Flåmsdalen valley which is located at the inner end of the Aurlandsfjorden, a branch of Sognefjorden. The village is located in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. In 2014 its inhabitants numbered 350. ...

sits at the innermost part of the Aurlandsfjord; other villages along the fjord are

Aurlandsvangen Aurlandsvangen () is the administrative center of Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the east side of the Aurlandsfjorden (a branch of the main Sognefjorden) where the Aurlandselvi river flows into the fjor ...

and

Undredal Undredal is a small village in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The popular tourist destination of Undredal is located along the Aurlandsfjorden which is a branch off the massive Sognefjorden in Norway's "fjord-country." It sits ...

. Most of the fjord is surrounded by up to tall, steep mountains with little habitation along the fjord except for in a few small valleys. Tremors of the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

arrived 12 minutes later in Aurlandsfjord, causing 1.5 meter

waves United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), was the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. It was established on July 21, 1942, ...

for a few hours. Large parts of the fjord are included in the Nærøyfjord section of the West Norwegian Fjords UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Gallery

File:Aurlandsfjorden frå Snøvegen.jpg, Aurlandsfjorden as seen from Aurland mountain road File:Aurlandsfjorden from Stegastein.jpg, Seen north-northwest from Stegastein File:Kongeskipet Norge i Aurlandsfjorden.jpg, The royal yacht at Skjerdal File:Aurlandfjorden.jpg, Panorama File:Flåm cruisehamn Boudicca.jpg, Cruise ship at Flåm File:Undredal from Sognefjord.jpg, Undredal seen from boat

References

External links

* Fjords of Vestland Sognefjord Aurland Lærdal Vik, Sogn {{Vestland-geo-stub