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Vestfjorden

For the fjord in Greenland, see Vestfjord. For other places with the same name, see Vestfjorden (disambiguation).
Vestfjorden[1]
Map of the fjord
Map
Interactive map of the fjord
LocationNordland county, Norway
Coordinates68°03′N 14°46′E / 68.050°N 14.767°E / 68.050; 14.767
TypeFjord
Basin countriesNorway
Max. length155 kilometres (96 mi)
Max. width80 kilometres (50 mi)

Vestfjorden[1] (lit. 'the western fjord'; sometimes shortened to Vestfjord in English) is a 155-kilometre (96 mi) long fjord or oceanic sea in Nordland county, Norway.[2][3]

The name literally means "the west fjord", although it is called a fjord, it could best be described as a firth or an open bight of sea. The "fjord" lies between the Lofoten archipelago and the Salten district of mainland Norway. The term fjord (from the old Norse fjördr meaning firth or inlet) is used in a more general way for bodies of water in the western Scandinavian languages than the more narrow usage commonly used in English.[4][5]

The Vestfjorden flows from the area near the town of Narvik to the west and southwest. The mouth of the Vestfjorden is about 80 kilometres (50 mi) wide, roughly running from the mainland town of Bodø to the islands of Røstlandet and Værøya to the northwest of Bodø.[2]

The Vestfjorden is famous for its cod fishery, which was exploited back to the early medieval period. More recently, the winter invasion of Orcas in the inner parts of Vestfjord has become a tourist attraction. Strong winds with heavy seas are not uncommon in winter.[2]

  1. ^ a b "Informasjon om stadnamn". Norgeskart (in Norwegian). Kartverket. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  2. ^ a b c Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (2018-11-18). "Vestfjorden". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  3. ^ Sømme, Axel, ed. (1960). The Geography of Norden. London: Heinemann.
  4. ^ Soëga, Geir T. (1910). A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic. Clarendon Press.
  5. ^ Barnes, Michael (1999). A New Introduction to Old Norse. London: University College. ISBN 9780903521451.

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