Førde Fjord

Førde Fjord (Norwegian: Førdefjorden) is a fjord in Vestland county, Norway. It is the longest of all the fjords in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. Førdefjorden passes through the municipalities of Sunnfjord, Askvoll, and Kinn. The fjord begins at the town of Førde, at the estuary of the river Jølstra, which comes from the lake Jølstravatn. The island of Svanøya lies just outside the mouth of Førdefjorden. There are roads along the shoreline on both the north and south sides of the fjord, and the European route E39 highway runs past the town of Førde, near Førdefjorden.^[1]

Førde Fjord
Førdefjorden
View of the fjord
Førde Fjord
Location	Sunnfjord, Vestland
Coordinates	61.448°N 5.538°E / 61.448; 5.538
Primary inflows	River Jølstra
Primary outflows	Brufjorden / Stavfjorden
Basin countries	Norway
Max. length	36 kilometres (22 mi)
Max. width	2 kilometres (1.2 mi)
Settlements	Førde, Naustdal

Development of mining industry

Nordic Mining have applied to deposit 6m tonnes of tailings a year for 50 years into the Fjord, prompting much opposition.^[2][3] In May 2022, a permission was granted; however, an operations plan [has not yet been approved] by Directorate of Mining (as of Q2 2022).^[4]

[As of 2021] Nordic Mining is permitted to dump 9 [metric] tons of chemicals into the fjord per year, including 2 tons of SIBX (sodium isobutyl xanthate).^[5]

[As of January 2024] After a 15-year dispute, Nordic Mining has been given the go-ahead to dispose of 170m tonnes of mining waste at the bottom of the Førde fjord. Before, the government had won a court case against environmental organisations who had tried to block the disposal.^[6]

Settlements

The following settlements are located along the Førdefjorden:

• Stavang (in Flora municipality), on the north side, at the mouth of the fjord
• Kvammen (in Askvoll municipality), on the south side, near the mouth of the fjord
• Indrevevring (in Naustdal municipality), on the north side, a little ways into the fjord
• Helle (in Naustdal municipality), on the north side, about the middle of the fjord
• Naustdal (the administrative centre of Naustdal municipality), on the north side, near the inner part of the fjord
• Førde (the adm. centre of Førde municipality), at the innermost part of the fjord

Media gallery

• 
  Gjelsvik by Førdefjorden
• 
  View of Førdefjorden towards southwest
• 
  View of Førdefjorden towards southeast

See also

• List of Norwegian fjords

References

1. Store norske leksikon. "Førdefjorden" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2010-08-07.
2. Paris, Natalie (2014-11-12). "Norway: Fight to keep fjord waste-free". Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
3. Vidal, John (2014-11-19). "Conservationists slam plans to dump mining waste into Norwegian fjord". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
4. "Departementet har vedtatt at driftslisensen opprettholdes: – Klagene har ikke vært forgjeves". www.nrk.no. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
5. "Miljødirektoratet: Gruveselskapet kan sleppe ut to tonn SIBX i fjorden". 19 January 2021.
6. Norway to allow mining waste to be dumped in fjords