Troms: Encyclopedia II - Troms - Geography

Troms - Geography

Troms has a very rugged and indented coastline facing the Norwegian Sea. However, the large and mountaineous islands along the coast provides an excellent sheltered waterway on the inside. Starting in the south, the largest islands are: northeastern part of Hinnøya (the southern part is in Nordland), Grytøy, Senja, Kvaløya, Ringvassøya, Reinøy, Vannøy and Arnøy. There are several large fjords that stretches quite far inland. Starting in the south, the largest fjords are Vågsfjorden, Malangen, Balsfjorden, Ullsfjorden, Lyngen (the municipality has it's name from the fjord) and Kvænangen (fjord). The largest lake is Altevatnet in the interior of the county.

The most striking mountain range is the Lyngen mountains (Lyngsalpene), which stretches from the northernmost tip of Sweden and due north, following the full length of the Lyngen fjord. Jiekkevarre (1833 m) is the highest mountain in the county. There are several small glaciers in the Lyngen mountains. These steep mountains are popular for hiking and extreme skiing, but caution is necessary in winter because the large amounts of snow can create avalanches some places. The lowland areas east of the mountain range (including the interior of Finnmark) have a drier climate than the area west of the mountains.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Geography", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki