Northern Norway

Northern Norway

Northern Norway is a beautiful part of Norway. It includes three counties: Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark. These areas make up about 35% of Norway’s mainland.

Big towns here are Mo i Rana, Bodø, Narvik, Harstad, Tromsø, and Alta.

This place is famous for two amazing sights: the midnight sun and the northern lights. The midnight sun is when the sun stays up all night in summer. The northern lights are beautiful lights that dance in the sky at night in winter.

Northern Norway is home to many different people. Besides Norwegians, you can find the indigenous Sami people, Norwegian Finns known as Kvens, and some Russian communities, especially in Kirkenes. Most people speak the Norwegian language, but some Sami people speak their own language.

Geography

Northern Norway is a big part of Norway. The southern area, called Helgeland, has many islands and cool mountains, like Mount Torghatten. This place has forests, tall mountains, and big rivers such as the Vefsna and the Ranelva. The highest mountain is Oksskolten.

The Lofoten islands come up out of the ocean and have flat spots where sheep can live. Troms has green spaces and forests, with large islands like Senja. Finnmark has beautiful fjords, glaciers, and a wide open area named Finnmarksvidda with lots of lakes and rivers. The northern tip of Europe is located here at Knivskjellodden.

Towns

Here are some of the biggest towns in Northern Norway:

• Tromsø
• Bodø

Other towns with fewer than 30,000 people include:

• Harstad
• Mo i Rana
• Narvik
• Alta
• Mosjøen
• Hammerfest
• Fauske
• Sandnessjøen
• Vadsø

Very small towns with fewer than 5,000 people are:

• Sortland
• Brønnøysund
• Svolvær
• Finnsnes
• Kirkenes
• Stokmarknes
• Honningsvåg
• Leknes
• Vardø