Nordland

Nordland is located along the northwestern coast of the Scandinavian peninsula in North Norway. Due to the large distance to the densely populated parts of Europe, this is one of the least polluted areas in Europe. Nordland extends about 500 km from Nord-Trøndelag to Troms. The distance by road from Bindal in the far south of the county to Andenes on the northern tip is roughly 800 km. Nordland has a rugged coastline, with many fjords.

From south to north, the main fjords are Bindalsfjord, Vefsnfjord, Ranfjord, Saltfjord-Skjerstadfjord, Folda, Tysfjord, Ofotfjord (the longest) and Andfjord, which is shared with Troms county. The best-known is perhaps Vestfjord, which is not really a fjord, but an open stretch of sea between the Lofoten island group and the mainland. The Raftsundet strait, with its famous branch Trollfjord, is the shortest waterway connecting Lofoten and Vesterålen. The continental shelf is very narrow west of Andenes, nowhere else in Norway is the deep ocean only a few miles from shore. Saltstraumen whirlpool is just southeast of Bodø, and Moskstraumen is located in southern Lofoten.