West Norwegian Fjords


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.

Geography

Location

The World Heritage Site consists of two areas apart, located in south-west Norway, north-west of the city of Bergen, and part of the fjord landscape of western Norway extending over between Stavanger in the south and Åndalsnes in the north. The areas of Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord total, including on land and of water.
The Geirangerfjord area is situated 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 including on land and of water.
The Nærøyfjord is situated 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 of which is on land and 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.

Human presence

The area of Geirangerfjord had 230 inhabitants as of 2003, while Nærøyfjord had 243 inhabitants as of 2001.