From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lofoten
is an
archipelago
and a traditional district in the county of Nordland,
Norway
. Though lying within the
Arctic Circle
, Lofoten has one of the world's largest higher temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude.
Lofoten is well known for its natural beauty within Norway. Lofoten includes the municipalities of
Vagan, Vestvagøy, Flakstad, Moskenes, Værøy and Røst
. The main islands, running from north to south, are
whilst further to the south are the small and isolated islands of Værøy and Røst. The total land area amounts to 1,227 km², and the population totals 24,500.
Between the mainland and the Lofoten archipelago is the vast, open
Vestfjord
, and to the north is
Vesteralen
. The main towns in Lofoten are Leknes in Vestvagøy and Svolvær in Vagan.
The islands have for more than 1,000 years been the centre of great
cod
fisheries
, especially in winter, when the cod migrate south from the
Barents Sea
and gather in Lofoten to spawn. In the lowland areas, particularly Vestvagøy,
agriculture
is important and has been so since the
Bronze Age
.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Lofoten
.