Dovrefjell

Dovrefjell is a mountain range in Central Norway that forms a natural barrier between Eastern Norway and Trøndelag. The mountain range is located in Innlandet, Møre og Romsdal, and Trøndelag counties in Norway. As a result of its central location, its valleys and passes have been heavily trafficked during and probably preceding historical times. Several mountain inns were established in the Middle Ages to house pilgrims traveling through Dovrefjell to Trondheim, and there are even ruins of an old leper colony in the northern area of it.

The main south-north highway (European route E6) and the Dovrebanen railway line both run through a mountain pass in the Dovrefjell range. The highway is a year-round highway but on rare occasions it is closed for short periods during heavy winter weather conditions. The mountain range runs through Oppdal Municipality in Trøndelag county, Folldal Municipality, Dovre Municipality, and Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county, and Sunndal Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county. The municipalities of Oppdal, Folldal, and Dovre, together, make up what is sometimes known as the Dovre Region.

As it is a natural habitat for many rare plants and animals, much of the Dovrefjell range has become a national park in several stages starting in 1911, when some plants were put under protection. When the railroad was built from Oslo to Trondheim in 1921, one of the marshes was preserved. In 1974, parts of the mountain range became Dovrefjell National Park and the park was extensively enlarged in 2002. Together with the neighboring Rondane National Park, the area has Norway (and Europe's) last stock of wild reindeer of Beringian origin. Dovrefjell (west of E6 / the Dovre Line) also has a stock of musk oxen, imported from East Greenland in 1932.

The Dovrefjell area has now been almost entirely protected as two national parks:
* Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, founded 2002, which encompasses the previous and much smaller Dovrefjell National Park.
* Dovre National Park, founded 2003, connecting the protected areas in the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park with Rondane National Park.

The highest mountain in the region is the tall Snøhetta. The range provides cross-country skiing and hiking opportunities. The river Driva, running north through Oppdal Municipality, has its source in the Dovrefjell range.

Name

The first element refers to the geographic area, ''Dovre''. The last element is ''fjell'' which means "fell" or "mountain".

The name Dovre () belongs to a group of Scandinavian toponyms that the Swedish linguist Elof Hellquist has derived from a Proto-Norse , and linguists have further derived them from the old Proto-Indo-European root (cf. PIE , "deep"), a root that is also attested in German ("forested valley") and Old Slavic ("hole"). There are several place names in Denmark, Norway and Sweden that are identified as related to ''Dovre'':
;Denmark
* in the narrow valley ''Døvredal'', in Bodilsker parish on Bornholm.
* a place with steep slopes in Lintrup parish in Haderslev amt.
* located among deeply cut banks of a small stream, in Skipdsted parish near Aalborg.
*, an old farm name, and the bay , with hilly terrain, in Ydby parish, near Thisted

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