Folgefonna is a collective term for three plateau
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 ...
s in the
Hardanger region of
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 ...
. They are located on the Folgefonna peninsula in the municipalities of
Ullensvang,
Kvinnherad, and
Etne. The three glaciers are:
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Nordre (northern) Folgefonna, with an area of
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Midtre (central) Folgefonna, with an area of
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Søndre (southern) Folgefonna, with an area of , making it the third largest glacier in the mainland of Norway.
In total, Folgefonna covers about (measured in 2006). On 14 May 2005,
Folgefonna National Park was established, protecting the glaciers and the surrounding areas.
The glacier is home to a summer skiing resort, located on its northern region. The largest outflow glaciers from Folgefonna are Blomstølskardbreen,
Bondhusbreen, and
Buarbreen. Since around 1960, Blomstølskardbreen on the southern end of Folgefonna has changed very little. Bondhusbreen and Buerbreen further north were growing in the 1990s, but have been retreating since the year 2000. The glacier is a famous tourist attraction. Most people who visit the town of
Odda
Odda () is a list of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Hordaland counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality i ...
usually take the walk to
Buarbreen (a part of Folgafonna).
The melt-water from this glacier is bottled at source to form the product
Isklar. The melt-water also goes down the river from
Buarbreen down into the lake
Sandvinvatnet.
File:Bondhusglacier.jpg, Bondhusbreen - an offshoot of Folgefonna
File:Looking down from Folgefonna Glacier.jpg, Looking down from the glacier
File:Folgefonna south.JPG, Aerial view of the glaciers
File:Hardanger Folgefonna-Gletscher 10.JPG, A closer view of the glacier
Name
The first element is ''folge'' meaning 'thin layer of snow' and the last element is the finite form of ''fonn'' meaning 'mass of snow, glacier made of snow'.
See also
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Folgefonna Tunnel
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List of glaciers in Norway
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List of mountains in Norway by prominence
References
Glaciers of Vestland
Ullensvang
Etne
Kvinnherad
{{Vestland-geo-stub