Glomfjord

Glomfjord
Village
View of the village View of the village
Glomfjord Location in Nordland
Coordinates:
Country	Norway
Region	Northern Norway
County	Nordland
District	Salten
Municipality	Meløy
Area
• Total	1.13 km2 (0.44 sq mi)
Elevation	111 m (364 ft)
Population (2013)
• Total	1,120
• Density	991/km2 (2,570/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+01:00)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+02:00)
Post Code	8160 Glomfjord

Glomfjord is a village in the municipality of Meløy in Nordland county, Norway. The industrial community is located along Norwegian County Road 17 at the head of the Glomfjorden, just north of the Arctic Circle. The 1.13-square-kilometre (280-acre) village has a population (2013) of 1,120. The population density is 991 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,570/sq mi).

Heavy industry

The village is based around the Glomfjord hydroelectric power plant, which was the target of the 1942 commando raid entitled Operation Musketoon. Norsk Hydro, Norway's greatest industry, established fertilizer production here in 1912. The facilities were bought by the state in 1918, but leased to Hydro in 1947 (now the fertilizer division is known as Yara International). Today a conglomerate of industries are found in Glomfjord Industry Park.

Climate

Although located north of the Arctic Circle and not far from Norway's second largest glacier Svartisen, the climate is well suited for living due to the Gulf Stream, albeit rather wet. Average annual rainfall in Glomfjord is about 2,069 millimetres (81.5 in), with mean annual temperature 5 °C (41 °F). The temperature is seldom below −10 °C (14 °F) during winter time. During summer time the sun does not set. The midnight sun also makes the plants grow faster.

Tourism

Glomfjord has a hotel, a bistro, a WaterLand (with two slides and two pools), and some beautiful mountains for skiing and snowboarding in the winter. There is touring with fishing, climbing, and other relaxing activities in the mountains during summer. Svartisen and the lake Storglomvatnet are tourist destinations also.