Sunnfjord ( - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a traditional district in

Western Norway Western Norway (; ) is the Regions of Norway, region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the Counties of Norway, counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative fu ...

located in

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 A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. It includes the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Askvoll, Fjaler, the southernmost parts of

Kinn Kinn is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It was established on 1 January 2020. It is in the traditional districts of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The municipality is the only non-contiguous municipality in Norway since the municipality ...

, Sunnfjord, and the southernmost parts of Bremanger. It covers an area of about and has a population (2016) of 43,324—about 8% of the population of Vestland county. The central geographical characteristic of the Sunnfjord region are the

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 ...

s: Dalsfjorden and Førdefjorden. It is a tourist region, with waterfalls, fishing, white-water rafting, glaciers, hiking, and scenery—including

Jostedalsbreen National Park Jostedalsbreen National Park () is a national park in Norway that encompasses the largest glacier on the European mainland, Jostedalsbreen. The park was established by royal decree on 25 October 1991, and then in 1998, it was enlarged to the nort ...

. The area was the site of the largest air battle over Norway 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 a museum is dedicated to the event in

Naustdal Naustdal is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It was located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre wa ...

. There are two airports in Sunnfjord:

Førde Airport, Bringeland Førde is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the Counties of Norway, county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It was located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative center was t ...

, just outside the town of Førde, and Florø Airport, just outside the town of Florø. The

European route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim (city), Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other ...

highway passes through the region, going north and south.

Notable residents

References

Districts of Vestland Fjords of Vestland {{Vestland-geo-stub