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Troms fylke or Rommsa Fylkkasuohkan
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19
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Tromsø
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Nord-Norge
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4
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25,877
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24,884
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818
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2004
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15
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152,628
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333
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6
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20
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2001
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15
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32,159
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211
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211,955
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133,300
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or is a
County in
North 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 entire county is located north of the
Arctic Circle .
Until 1919 the county was formerly known as ''
2006
The county is named after the island
Tromsøya (
Old Norse ''Trums''). The meaning of the name is unknown.
island]]
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, have 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 its name from the fjord) and
Kvænangen (fjord). , one of the smaller fjords in Troms. The inland mountains seen in the background]]
The largest lake is
Altevatnet in the interior of the county.
'', where the borders of Norway, Finland and Sweden meet;
Storfjord .]]
There are mountains in all parts of Troms; the most alpine and striking are 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).
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).''
in Polar Zoo,
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
Harbour 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 have the highest
Tree Line (summer warmth and length is the limiting factor), with
Downy Birch reaching 700 m on the southern slope of
Njunis ; in all Troms birch forms the tree line, often 200 m above other trees.
Rowan ,
Aspen ,
Willow ,
Grey Alder , and
Bird Cherry are common in the lower elevations.
Scots Pine reaches an elevation of almost 400 m in Dividalen, where some of the largest trees are 500 years old. The upper part of the valley is protected by
Øvre Dividal National Park (
), which was enlarged in 2006 (
).
The inland valleys, like Østerdalen (with Altevatnet), Kirkesdalen, Dividalen, Rostadalen, Signaldalen and Skibotndalen, are perfect for summer
Hiking , with their varied nature, mostly dry climate and not too difficult terrain, although there are many accessible mountains for energetic hikers.
Reisadalen (
) is one of the most idyllic river valleys in Norway; from
Storslett in
Nordreisa the valley stretches south-southeast, covered with birch, pine,
Grey Alder , and willow. The northern part of the valley is 5 km wide, with 1200 m high mountains on both sides; the southern part of the valley narrows to a few hundred metres (canyon), with increasingly dry climate.
The valley floor is fairly flat with little height difference for 70 km (to Bilto); the (
) 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 experience 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 is 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 of the current ethnic groups to settle in the county were the
Sami People (inhabiting
Finnmork an area much larger than todays
Finnmark covering most of Troms).
Archeological evidence has shown that a
Norse Iron -based culture in the late Roman
Iron Age (200 - 400 AD), reachws as far north as
Karlsøy (near today's Tromsø), but not further northeast.
near Harstad 1895]] The Norse with their iron and agriculture settled along the coast and in some of the larger fjords, while the
Saami lived in the same fjord areas (usually just slightly further into the fjord ) and in the interior. From the 10th century, Norse settlements start to appear along the coast further north, reaching into what is today the county of Finnmark.
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 , who according to the
Sagas Speared King
Olav Haraldsson at the
Battle Of Stiklestad and traded and fought in
Bjarmaland , had his seat at
Bjarkøy . The nearby
Trondenes (today's Harstad) was also a central Viking power centre, and seems to have been a gathering place.
Church in northern Troms at night, February 2004]]
The county was established in 1866.
The ''
Kven '' residents of ''Troms'' are largely descendants of
Finnish immigrants who arrived in the area before the
19th Century from
Finland because of war and
Famine . They settled mainly in the northeastern part of Troms, in the municipalities of
Kvænangen ,
Nordreisa ,
Skjervøy ,
Kåfjord and
Storfjord , and some also reached
Balsfjord and
Lyngen .
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1960) - but it has old roots: The nobleman
Bjarne Erlingsson of
Bjarkøy (dead 1313) had a griffin in his coat-of-arms. (See also the coat-of-arms of
Bjarkøy .)
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 ( ).
