Skånland is a
municipality|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
in
Tromsor Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...
county||-|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 431 municipalities...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of
EvenskjerEvenskjer is the administrative centre of Skånland municipality, Norway. Its population is 601....
.
Skånland was separated from the municipality of
TrondenesTrondenes is a parish and a former municipality in Troms county, Norway.The parish was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . The city of Harstad was separated from Trondenes January 1, 1904. The districts of Sandtorg and Skånland were separated from Trondenes July 1, 1926...
on 1 July 1926. The municipality of
AstafjordAstafjord is a former municipality in Norway. It was separated from Ibestad July 1, 1926 . At that point Astafjord had a population of 1 018.On January 1, 1964 Astafjord, with its 1 120 inhabitants, was merged into Skånland....
was merged into Skånland on 1 January 1964.
The municipality, and the
parishA parish is a territorial unit that was usually historically served by a local church. This administrative unit is typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches...
, is named after the old
Skånland farm (
Old NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
:
Skánøyjarland), since the first church was built there (in 1870).
Skånland is a
municipality|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
in
Tromsor Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...
county||-|Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 431 municipalities...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of
EvenskjerEvenskjer is the administrative centre of Skånland municipality, Norway. Its population is 601....
.
Skånland was separated from the municipality of
TrondenesTrondenes is a parish and a former municipality in Troms county, Norway.The parish was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . The city of Harstad was separated from Trondenes January 1, 1904. The districts of Sandtorg and Skånland were separated from Trondenes July 1, 1926...
on 1 July 1926. The municipality of
AstafjordAstafjord is a former municipality in Norway. It was separated from Ibestad July 1, 1926 . At that point Astafjord had a population of 1 018.On January 1, 1964 Astafjord, with its 1 120 inhabitants, was merged into Skånland....
was merged into Skånland on 1 January 1964.
Name
The municipality, and the
parishA parish is a territorial unit that was usually historically served by a local church. This administrative unit is typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches...
, is named after the old
Skånland farm (
Old NorseOld Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
:
Skánøyjarland), since the first church was built there (in 1870). The first element is the
genitive caseIn grammar, the genitive case is the case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
of an old name
Skánøy (but the meaning of this is uncertain) and the last element is
land which means "
landEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
" or "
farmA farm is an area of land, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibers and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single individual, family, community, corporation...
". The name might be of
SamiSami or Saami is a general name for a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and extreme northwestern Russia, in Northern Europe. Sami is frequently believed to be a single language. Several names are used for the Sami languages: Saami,...
origin, meaning "small mountains" (
skánit).
Coat-of-arms
The
coat-of-armsA coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy...
is from modern times (1988). They show a black
augerAn auger is a device for moving material or liquid by means of a rotating helical flighting. The material is moved along the axis of rotation. For some uses the helical 'flighting' is enclosed in a tube, for other uses the flighting is not encased...
on a gold background. This was chosen since the production of augers, and their use in construction of
boatA boat is a watercraft of modest size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is...
s, has long roots in the municipality.
Geography
The municipality includes the western and northern part of the
OfotenOfoten is a district in North Norway, consisting of the municipalities Tysfjord, Ballangen, Evenes, Tjeldsund, Narvik and Lødingen. It is named after the main fjord Ofotfjord, which is at the center of this landscape...
peninsula, which is bordered by
OfotfjordOfotfjord , an inlet of the Norwegian sea north of the Arctic circle, is Norway's 12th longest fjord, long, and the 18th deepest, with a maximum depth of . Along the shores of this fjord is the major town of Narvik...
in the south,
TjeldsundetTjeldsundet is the sound between Hinnøya and mainland Norway, and in the southern part between Hinnøya and Tjeldøya island. The southern part is located in Nordland, while the northern part is in Troms...
in the west, and
AstafjordAstafjord is a former municipality in Norway. It was separated from Ibestad July 1, 1926 . At that point Astafjord had a population of 1 018.On January 1, 1964 Astafjord, with its 1 120 inhabitants, was merged into Skånland....
(Vågsfjord) in the north.
Neighbouring municipalities are
EvenesEvenes is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Ofoten region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bogen.The old municipality of Ofoten was split into Evenes and Ankenes on 1 January 1884...
to the south,
Narvikis a town and municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
in the southeast,
TjeldsundTjeldsund is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Ofoten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hol i Tjeldsund. Tjeldsund was separated from the municipality of Lødingen in 1909....
in Nordland to the southwest.
Harstadis the second largest city and municipality by population, in Troms county, Norway – the city is also the third largest in North Norway. Thus Harstad is the natural centre for its district. Situated approximately north of the Arctic Circle, the city celebrated its 100th anniversary in...
in the northwest, across Tjeldsundet, and
GratangenGratangen is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is part of the Hålogaland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Årstein...
in the northeast, are located in Troms.
EvenskjerEvenskjer is the administrative centre of Skånland municipality, Norway. Its population is 601....
, located in the lowland bordering Tjeldsundet, is the largest village. In the northern part is the smaller village of
GrovGrov is a village in the municipality of Skånland, Norway. Its population is 289.-References:...
. Other villages are
TovikTovik is a village in the municipality of Skånland, Norway. Its population is 200.It lies on the main road just north of the larger and dominant village Sandstrand.Tovik's main attractions are Ebbestua and Statoil gas station....
and
SandstrandSandstrand is a village situated in the centre of the municipality of Skånland, Norway.The village blossomed economically in the late seventies and early eighties. In the nineties, most businesses had to close down due to competition from nearby cities and towns...
.
Economy
AgricultureAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
is important in Skånland, and there are also many people working in Harstad or at the
Harstad/Narvik Airport, EvenesHarstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes is located in Evenes municipality in Nordland, North Norway. A smaller part of the runway is in Skånland municipality in Troms.- General information about the airport :...
.
Nature
The largest lake is Skoddebergvatnet, and the highest mountain is Skittendalstinden at in the mountainous center of the
peninsulaA peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paenīnsula : paene, almost + īnsula, island.A peninsula can also be a headland, cape, island promontory, bill, point, or spit....
. There are
calcareousCalcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...
pinePines are coniferous trees in the genus Pinus , in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Distribution:...
forestA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on the various criteria. These plant communities presently cover approximately 9.4% of the Earth's surface in many different regions and function as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators,...
s near Skoddebergvatnet.