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LOFOTEN AND VESTERAALEN

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Originally appearing in Volume V16, Page 863 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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LOFOTEN AND VESTERAALEN , a large and picturesque See also:

group of islands lying N.E. and S.W. off the N.W. See also:coast of See also:Norway, between 67° 30' and 69° 20' N., and between 12° and 16° 35' E. forming See also:part of the amt (See also:county) of Nordland. The extreme length of the group from Andenaes, at the See also:north of Ando, to Rost, is about 150 m.; the aggregate See also:area about 156o sq. m. It is separated from the mainland by the Vestfjord, Tjaeldsund and Vaagsfjord, and is divided into two sections by the Raftsund between Hindo and Ost-Vaago. To the W. and S. of the Raftsund See also:lie the Lofoten Islands proper, of which the most important are Ost-Vaago, Gimso, Vest-Vaago, Flakstado, Moskenaeso, Mosken, Varo and Rost; E. and N. of the Raftsund are the islands of Vesteraalen, the See also:chief being HindO, Ulvo, Lango, Skogso and Ando. The islands, which are all of See also:granite or metamorphic See also:gneiss, are precipitous and lofty. The highest points and finest scenery are found on Ost-Vaago, in the neighbourhood of the narrow, cliff-See also:bound Raftsund and Troldfjord. The See also:principal peaks are Higrafstind (3811 ft.), Gjeitgaljartind (3555), Rulten (3483), the Noldtinder (3467), Svartsundtind (3506). The See also:long See also:line of jagged and fantastic peaks seen from the Vestfjord forms one of the most striking prospects on the See also:Norwegian coast, but still finer is the See also:panorama from the Digermuler (115o ft.), embracing the islands, the Vest-See also:fjord, and the mountains of the mainland. The channels which See also:separate the islands are narrow and tortuous, and generally of See also:great See also:depth; they are remarkable for the strength of their tidal currents, particularly the Raftsund and the famous See also:Maelstrom or Moskenstrom between Moskenaes and Mosken. The violent tempests which sweep over the Vestfjord, which is exposed to the S.V., are graphically described in See also:Jonas Lie's Den Fremsynte (187o) and in H. See also:Schultze's Udvalgte Shriller (1883), as the Maelstrom is imaginatively by See also:Edgar See also:Allan See also:Poe. Though situated wholly within the See also:Arctic circle, the See also:climate of the Lofoten and Vesteraalen group is not rigorous when compared with that of the See also:rest of Norway.

The isothermal line which marks a mean See also:

January temperature of 32° F. runs See also:south from the Lofotens, passing a little to the See also:east of See also:Bergen onward to See also:Gothenburg and See also:Copenhagen. The prevailing winds are from the S. and W., the mean temperature for the See also:year is 38.5° F., and the See also:annual rainfall is 43.34 in. In summer the hills have only patches of See also:snow, the snow limit being about 3000 ft. The natural pasture produced in favourable localities permits the rearing of See also:cattle to some extent; but the growth of cereals (chiefly See also:barley, which here matures in ninety days) is insignificant. The islands yield no See also:wood. The characteristic See also:industry, and an important source of the See also:national See also:wealth, is the See also:cod See also:fishery carried on along the east coast of the Lofotens in the Vestfjord in See also:spring. This employs about 40,000 men during the See also:season from all parts of Norway, the See also:population being then about doubled, and the surplus accommodated in temporary huts. The See also:average yield is valued at about £35,000. The See also:fish are taken in nets let down during the See also:night, or on lines upwards of a mile in length, or on See also:ordinary See also:hand-lines. The fishermen are paid in See also:cash, and large sums of See also:money are sent to the islands by the Norwegian See also:banks each See also:February. Great loss of See also:life is frequent during the sudden See also:local storms. The fish, which is dried during See also:early summer, is exported to See also:Spain (where it is known as bacalao), See also:Holland, Great See also:Britain, See also:Belgium, &c.

See also:

Industries arising out of the fishery are the manufacture of cod-See also:liver oil and of artificial manure. The summer cod See also:fisheries and the See also:lobster fishery are also valuable. The See also:herring is taken in large quantities off thewest coasts of Vesteraalen, but is a somewhat capricious visitant. The islands contain no towns properly so called, but Kabelvaag on Ost-Vaago and Svolvaer on a few rocky islets off that See also:island are considerable centres of See also:trade and (in the fishing season) of population; Lodingen also, at the See also:head of the Vestfjord on Hindo, is much frequented as a See also:port of See also:call. A See also:church existed at Vaagen (Kabelvaag) in the 12th See also:century, and here Hans See also:Egede, the missionary of See also:Greenland, was pastor. There are factories for fish See also:guano at Henningvaer (Ost-Vaago), Kabelvaag, Svolvaer, Lodingen, and at Bretesnas on See also:Store Molla. See also:Regular means of communication are afforded by the steamers which trade between See also:Hamburg or See also:Christiania and See also:Hammerfest, and also by local vessels; less accessible spots can be visited by small boats, in the management of which the natives are adepts. There are some roads on Hindo, LangO, and Ando. The largest island in the group, and indeed in Norway, is Hindo; with an area of 86o sq. m. The south-eastern portion of it belongs to the amt of See also:Tromso. In the island of Ando there is a See also:bed of See also:coal at the mouth of Ramsaa.

End of Article: LOFOTEN AND VESTERAALEN

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