|
| |
Troms fylke
|
| |
19
|
| |
Tromsø
|
| |
 
|
| |
Nord-Norge
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| |
4
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| |
25,877
|
| |
24,884
|
| |
818
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| |
2004
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| |
15
|
| |
152,628
|
| |
333
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| |
6
|
| |
20
|
| |
2001
|
| |
15
|
| |
32,159
|
| |
211
|
| |
211,955
|
| |
133,300
|
| |
|
| |
|
is a
County in
Northern Norway , bordering
Finnmark to the northeast and
Nordland in the southwest. To the south is
Norrbotten Län in
Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with
Lapland Province in
Finland . To the west is the
Norwegian Sea (
Atlantic Ocean ).
The county was formerly known as ''
Tromsø Amt ''.
Troms has a very rugged and indented coastline facing the (the southern part is in
Nordland ),
Grytøy ,
Senja ,
Kvaløya ,
Ringvassøya ,
Reinøy ,
Vannøy and
Arnøy . Some of these islands, most noteworthy Senja, has a rugged outer coast with cliffs and mountains straight from the sea, while on the inside there are forested hills, rivers and farmland.
There are several large
Fjord s that stretch quite far inland. Starting in the south, the largest fjords are
Vågsfjord ,
Andfjord (shared with Nordland),
Malangen ,
Balsfjord ,
Ullsfjord ,
Lyngen (the municipality has it's name from the fjord) and
Kvænangen (fjord). The largest lake is
Altevatnet in the interior of the county.
There are mountains in all parts of Troms; the most alpine and striking is probably the
Lyngen Alps (''Lyngsalpene''), with several small
Glacier s and the highest mountain in the county,
Jiekkevarre (1833 m). Several glaciers are located in
Kvænangen , including parts of the
Øksfjordjøkelen , the last glacier in mainland Norway to drop icebergs directly into the sea (this ended around 1900), and
Jøkelfjord , where this happened, still is a spectacular landscape.
The largest river in Troms (waterflow) is
Målselva (in
Målselv ), and the largest (not the highest) waterfall is
Målselvfossen (600 m long, 20 m high).
, one of the smaller fjords in Troms. The inland mountains seen in the background]]
Lowland areas east of mountain ranges have a drier climate than areas west of the mountains. can get down to -35°C (-32°F), while summer days can reach 30°C. The mildest climate is in the south,
Borkenes (36 m) in
Kvæfjord (near
Harstad ) has January, July and year 24-hr averages -2.8°C (28°F), 12.6°C (55°F) and 4°C (39°F), with precipitation 820 mm/year (
).
''Climate statistics provided by Norwegian Meteorological Institute (1961 - 90 base period).''
Moose ,
Red Fox ,
Hare ,
Stoat and small
Rodent s are common in all Troms, and
Brown Bear s are sighted in the interior in the summer. Other animals are
Reindeer (interior mountain areas, with
Sami owners),
Wolverine (interior mountain areas)
Otter (along the coast and rivers),
Lynx (in the forests), and
Harbor Porpoise in the fjords. Some of the common birds are
Ptarmigan ,
Sea Eagles ,
Seagull s and
Cormorant s (coast).
The sheltered valleys in the interior of Troms has the highest
Treeline (summer warmth & length is the limiting factor), with
Downy Birch reaching 700 m on the southern slope of
Njunis ; in all Troms birch forms the treeline, often 200 m above other trees.
Rowan ,
Aspen ,
Willow ,
Grey Alder , and
Bird Cherry are common in the lower elevations.
, with their varied nature, mostly dry climate and not too difficult terrain, although there are many accessible mountains for energetic hikers.. July 2004]]
Reisadalen (
) is one of the most idyllic river valleys in Norway; from (
) protects the upper part of the valley.
The city of
Tromsø , in the north central part, is the county seat and an
Arctic seaport, and seat of the world's northernmost university, renowned for research about the
Aurora Borealis . The University of Tromsø has an astrophysical observatory located in Skibotn (
).
Tromsø is the only municipality with a strong population growth, most of the smaller municipalities experiences decreasing populations as the young and educated move to the cities, often in the southern part of Norway.
Harstad is a commercial centre for the southern part of the county.
Along the coast and on the islands, fishing is dominant. Important ports for the fishing fleet are
Skjervøy , Tromsø and Harstad. There is also some agriculture, especially in the southern part, which has a longer
Growing Season (150 days in Harstad).
Balsfjord is often regarded to be the most northern municipality with substantial agricultural activity in Norway, although there are also agriculture further north.
The Norwegian armed forces is a vital employer in Troms, having the seat of the
6th Army Division ,
Bardufoss Air Station , helicopter wings and radar stations in the county.
The busiest airport is
Tromsø Airport, Langnes . The southern part of Troms is served by
Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes . The
E6 cuts through the county from Nordland into
Gratangen in the south to
Kvænangen in the north and then into Finnmark. The
E8 road runs from Tromsø to Finland via
Nordkjosbotn and the Skibotn valley. There are several large bridges; some of the largest are
Tjeldsund Bridge ,
Mjøsund Bridge ,
Gisund Bridge ,
Tromsø Bridge and
Sandnessund Bridge . There are several undersea road tunnels; Rolla to Andørja (in
Ibestad ), Tromsøya to the mainland (Tromsø), Kvaløya to Ringvassøya and Skjervøy to the mainland.
, the only medieval church in Troms]]
Troms has been settled since the early
Stone Age , and there are prehistoric
Rock Carvings at several locations (for instance
Ibestad and
Balsfjord ). These people made their living from hunting, fishing and gathering.
The first agriculture in Norway most likely began around 2500 BC with new immigrants coming from further south in Europe. This formed the basis of a
Bronze Age culture in southern Norway. A few coastal areas of
Nordland have remains from this culture; large burial cairns built close to the sea, and the most northern location where these have been found is the Harstad-area in southern Troms. A 3000 year old bronze
Axe was excavated at Trondenes (
), following a lucky find of a 2600 year old bronze necklace (
picture ).
There are substantial today.
From the 10th century, Norse settlements starts to appear along the coast further north, reaching into what is today the county of Finnmark.
Church in northern Troms at night, February 2004]]
Southern and mid-Troms was a
Petty Kingdom in the
Viking Age , and considered part of
Hålogaland .
Ottar From Hålogaland met king
Alfred The Great around
890 . The viking leader
Tore Hund , which according to the
Saga s
Speared king
Olav Haraldsson at the
Battle Of Stiklestad and traded and fought in
Bjarmaland , had his seat at
Bjarkøy . The nearby
Trondenes (todays Harstad) was also a central viking power centre, and seems to have been a gathering place.
Children playing in Tromsø summer 2005 discovered a
Silver treasure which had laid buried since the
Viking Age (
).
The county was established in 1866.
The
Finnic (or ''Fenno-Ugric'') ''
Kven '' (''Quen'') residents of ''Troms'' are largely descendants of
Finnish immigrants who arrived to the area during the
19th Century - or before - from
Finland because of war and
Famine . They settled mainly in
Finnmark and the northeastern part of Troms, in the municipalities of
Kvænangen (''fjord of the kven''),
Nordreisa ,
Skjervøy ,
Kåfjord and
Storfjord , and some also reached
Balsfjord and
Lyngen .
Troms County has a total of 25 municipalities:
- Tollefsrud, J.; Tjørve, E.; Hermansen, P.: ''Perler i Norsk Natur - En Veiviser''. Aschehoug, 1991.
- Moen, A. 1998. ''Nasjonalatlas for Norge: Vegetasjon.'' Statens Kartverk, Hønefoss.
- Norwegian Meteorological Institute ( ).
