Sogn og Fjordane

Sogn og Fjordane is a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud and Hordaland. The county administration is in Leikanger.

The county is divided into three landscapes, Sogn, Sunnfjord and Nordfjord. Sogn surrounds Sognefjorden. Its length, from Solund on the offshore island of Sula in the North Sea to Skjolden, at the head of its longest branch, the Lustrafjorden , is 204 km. It is mainly a rural area with scattered population. It includes the biggest glacier in Norway, Jostedalsbreen, and the deepest lake, Hornindalsvannet . In the Jotunheim mountains is Vettisfossen, Norway's fourth highest waterfall, with a vertical drop of 275 m. Cruise ships visit the district all summer, because of the unique vistas of high mountains and deep blue fjords.

Although Sogn og Fjordane has some industry, predominantly hydroelectricity and aluminium, it is predominately agricultural. The nature changes quite rapidly as more smaller mountains on the costal line and gradually increasing in to mountains almost reaching 8000 feet. Because of the inland rising steeply, fjords cutting trough, the amount of percipitation is very high. Low pressure system come in from the west, meet the mountains thus causing rain and snowfall.

Sogn og Fjordane is also home to the Urnes stave church, which is listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site.

Municipalities

External links

Categories: Counties of Norway