Saltfjellet is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

area in

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

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 ...

that separates the two regions of

Helgeland Helgeland is the most southerly Districts of Norway, district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet moun ...

and Salten. It is also a cultural border between the Southern and Central parts of Sápmi.

Geography and environment

The Saltfjell is one of the largest mountain ranges in Norway, and is also where the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

cuts through the country. This range is part of seven municipalities: The northern part is part of the municipalities of Saltdal, Bodø,

Beiarn Beiarn is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. Beiarn is also a part of the Bodø Region, a statistical metropolitan region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village ...

and

Gildeskål Gildeskål may refer to: Places *Gildeskål Municipality, a municipality in Nordland county, Norway * Gildeskål (village), a small village in Gildeskål Municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Gildeskål Church Gildeskål Church () is a parish ...

, the western part is in the municipalities of Meløy and Rødøy while the southern part is in Rana Municipality. The highest mountain is Ølfjellet at above sea level. The mountains stretch from the coast to the Swedish border. The

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 ...

Svartisen is actually two glaciers, separated by the Glomdalen valley with the Glomåga river. Western Svartisen is the second largest glacier on the Norwegian mainland, and is part of the Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park. There are many other glaciers as well. A total of of the area is protected. Several long valleys radiate from the mountains, such as the Dunderland Valley and Blakkådalen going south from the mountains, and Saltdalen and the Beiar Valley going northwards. The eastern part of the range forms a plateau with some gently sloping mountains, and this is where the road and railway crosses over Saltfjell. Both road and railway take advantage of the Dunderland Valley and the Saltdal valley to make the distance on the

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

, which often sees snowstorms in winter, as short as possible. The western part is more alpine and steep, and this is where the engabreen glacier tongue of Western Svartisen almost reaches down to the fjord.

Transport

There are two main transport routes over the mountains: the

European Route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...

highway and the Nordland Line. The E6 highway was opened in 1937 and was asphalted in 1972. Until 1968 the road was closed in the winter. The railway line was built over the mountain during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and opened in 1947.

Name

The mountain range is named after the Salten district, named after Saltfjorden (the Salt fjord). The last element is the finite form of ''fjell'' which means "mountain". File:Storglomvatnet from Holmvassdammen.JPG, Storglomvatnet (lake), with melting water from the Svartisen glacier File:Melfjord 01.JPG, Melfjorden in Rødøy in the distance; Saltfjell goes all the way to the coast, and has proven to be a barrier for flora and fauna, including

Norway spruce ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very clo ...

and the

Viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

. File:CargoNet Di 12 Euro 4000 Lønsdal - Bolna.jpg, Freight train on the Saltfjellet File:Bridge at Krokstrand A.JPG, Driving the E6 road from the south, the ascent starts near Krokstrand in the Dunderland Valley. File:Saltfjell-mountain-may.jpg, E6 road on Saltfjell, May 2011.

References

External links

Rana DNT Mountain cabins

Rødøy municipality:About Saltfjellet
with pictures {{authority control Landforms of Nordland Mountain ranges of Norway Rana, Norway Saltdal Beiarn Meløy Rødøy