Nordland - Nature

Nature

The sea along the coast has a rich marine life, and the cod fisheries in Lofoten has lasted for more than 1000 years. In addition to cod, coalfish, haddock, herring, wolf fish and halibut are all common along the coast and in the fjords. Nordland also features many lakes. The largest deep water coral reef (Lophelia pertusa) in the world, the Røst reef, 40 km long, is located west of Røst, and protected from trawling since 2003. The coast of Nordland has the highest density of sea eagles in Europe. There are millions of seabirds; the islands of Røst has the largest colonies in Norway with about one-quarter of all seabirds in continental Norway, probably most famous for the Puffins and Cormorants. Lovund also has a well-known colony of Puffins.

Otters are very common along the coast and fjords, as is Harbour porpoise, harbor seals; there are also seals. The largest fish in the sea is the basking shark, which were hunted in earlier days. The character birds along the coast, common in all areas including the fjords, are sea gulls, Eurasian Oystercatcher and Arctic Terns, and the Grey Heron has also become common. The Eurasian Eagle-Owl has a stronghold along the Helgeland coast; predator birds like Golden Eagle, Gyrfalcon and Peregrine Falcon nest in some inaccessible areas. Orcas are common along the coast and in the Vestfjord-area (even in the fjords) in winter, and the worlds largest predator, the Sperm Whale, hunt for prey in the deep waters west of Andøya. Tysfjord and Folda fjord is home to the worlds northernmost lobster population.

Spruce forest expansion have been blocked by Saltfjell and Kjølen mountains, thus spruce forest naturally grows only in Helgeland, but are commonly planted in the whole county for economic reasons, sparking some debate. Sitka spruce is also commonly planted in Nordland, particularly in coastal areas. The coastal areas belong to the Scandinavian coastal conifer forests ecoregion; some small areas have been classified as rainforest using botanical criteria as well as precipitaiton data. Inland areas up to the conifer treeline belong to the Scandinavian and Russian taiga ecoregion, while the highlands and mountains belong to the Scandinavian Montane Birch forest and grasslands ecoregion.

Other common trees in Nordland are birch, rowan, willow, grey alder, bird cherry, aspen and Scots Pine, more rarely seen is wych elm and common hazel (elm north to Beiarn, hazel north to Steigen, small-leaved lime north to Brønnøy, forest apple north to Moskenes). The Nordland Whitebeam (Nordlandsasal) is one of very few endemic trees in Norway, and only grows in Bindal in Nordland.

In the mountain areas in the interior, reindeer can be seen (these have sami owners), hunted by the indigenous wolverine. There are also a few brown bears in the interior. The arctic fox is now in danger of extinction on the mainland, but a few are left in these mountain areas, particularly in Børgefjell mountains. Red foxes, moose, hares, squirrels, small rodents, pine marten (inland valleys) and stoats are all common in the forests. As of 2008, there were a minimum of 50 Lynx in Nordland residing in the forests in all Nordland except Lofoten and Vesterålen. In lowland areas, roe deers now occur in most of Nordland, and red deers are seen in the southern part of Nordland. The Badger and the Common viper has their most northerly habitat in southerly coastal areas of Nordland. Gray wolfs have been observed in inland areas of Helgeland. There are few species of amphibians, although the Common Frog is common in all Nordland except mountain areas, and the Smooth Newt has its most northerly habitat in the world in the river Vefsna. There are 7 national parks in, or partly in, Nordland. From south to north, these are Børgefjell National Park, Lomsdal–Visten National Park, Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park, Junkerdal National Park, Rago National Park, Sjunkhatten National Park and Møysalen National Park. The national park centre for Nordland is situated in Saltdal.