West Norwegian Fjords
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
| Location | Norway |
| Criteria | (vii) (viii) |
| Reference | 1195 |
| Coordinates | 60°57′57″N 6°58′40″E / 60.96583°N 6.97778°E |
The West Norwegian Fjords is the common name of two fjords in Norway listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO: the Geirangerfjord and the Nærøyfjord.[1]
Geography
Location
The World Heritage Site consists of two areas 120 kilometres (75 mi) apart, located in south-west Norway, north-west of the city of Bergen, and part of the fjord landscape of western Norway extending over 500 kilometres (310 mi) between Stavanger in the south and Åndalsnes in the north.[2] The areas of Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord total 122,712 hectares (1,227 km2; 474 sq mi), including 111,966 hectares (1,120 km2; 432 sq mi) on land and 10,746 hectares (107 km2; 41 sq mi) of water.[3]
The Geirangerfjord area is situated 60 kilometres (37 mi) inland and constitutes the Geirangerfjord itself as the upper end of Storfjorden as well as Tafjorden. The heritage cite lies within Møre og Romsdal county and includes parts of Fjord Municipality and Stranda Municipality. It covers 51,802 hectares (518 km2; 200 sq mi) including 46,151 hectares (462 km2; 178 sq mi) on land and 5,651 hectares (57 km2; 22 sq mi) of water.
The Nærøyfjord is situated 100 kilometres (62 mi) inland and is the upper extremity of Sognefjord. It lies in Vestland county and includes parts of Aurland Municipality, Vik Municipality, Lærdal Municipality, and Voss Municipality. In total it covers 70,910 hectares (709 km2; 274 sq mi) of which 65,815 hectares (658 km2; 254 sq mi) is on land and 5,095 hectares (51 km2; 20 sq mi) are water. It is crossed by European route E16.
Climate
The two areas, though relatively distant, have a very similar climate, which is a transition between oceanic and continental climates. The region is favourable to microclimates. Snow persists from October to the end of May in the mountains and the end of November to March in the valleys. In winter, the sources of the fjords are frozen for a period of one to three weeks.[4]
Human presence
The area of Geirangerfjord had 230 inhabitants as of 2003, while Nærøyfjord had 243 inhabitants as of 2001.[5]
See also
References
- ^ "Norway's UNESCO sites". VisitNorway.com.
- ^ "Fjords de l'Ouest de la Norvège – Geirangerfjord et Nærøyfjord". Centre du patrimoine mondial. Retrieved 26 September 2018..
- ^ "West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord". Unesco.org.
- ^ Les Fjords de l'Ouest de la Norvège - Évaluation technique de l'UICN (in French). Évaluation de l'UICN. 2005. p. 38..
- ^ The West Norwegian Fjords - Norwegian Nomination 2004 UNESCO World Heritage List (PDF). Oslo: Dossier d'inscription. 2004. p. 138.