- Steigen
Infobox_Kommune
name=Steigen
county=Nordland
idnumber=1848
landscape=Salten
capital=Leinesfjord
governor=Asle Schrøder (SP)
governor_as_of=2007
arearank=105
area=1007
arealand=962
areapercent=0.31
population_as_of=2004
populationrank=282
population=2,863
populationpercent=0.06
populationdensity=3
populationincrease=-10.3
language=Bokmål
lat_deg=67| lat_min=47| lat_sec=54| lon_deg=15| lon_min=10| lon_sec=19
utm_zone=33W| utm_northing=7520415 |utm_easting=0507261| geo_cat=adm2nd
munwebpage=www.steigen.kommune.no
Steigen is a municipality in
Nordland county, Norway.Steigen was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (seeformannskapsdistrikt ).Leiranger was separated from Steigen September 1, 1900 - but it was again merged with Steigen January 1, 1964.Nordfold was merged with Steigen the same date.Geography
The municipality is located at the coast, about 100 km north of
Bodø , well inside theArctic Circle . The road to Steigen departs from the E6 and makes use of the 8 km longSteigentunnelen (seeWorld's longest tunnels ). Steigen bordersHamarøy municipality in the north andSørfold municipality to the south.Vestfjord andLofoten is located west of Steigen. The municipality is mainly located on a peninsula dissected by many fjords. Steigen also includes several islands. The largest island isEngeløya , where there are ancient burial mounds (such as Sigarshaugen) and the world's most northerly naturally occurring Hazel forest inPrestegårdsskogen nature reserve . The largest glacier is Helldalsisen encircling a 1,361 m (4400 ft) mountain.Climate The monthly 24-hr averages range from -1°C in January and February to 13°C in July and August, with precipitation ranging from 49 mm in May to 146 mm in October; annual average is 970 mm and mean annual temperature is 5.1°C (source:
Norges meteorologiske institutt , 1961-90 base period for Grøtøy, Steigen).Steigen has fertile lowlands in between the mountains and the sea. There are several archeological sites showing settlements from the
Bronze age ,Iron age andViking age .The name
The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Steigen (Norse "Steig"), since the first church was built there. The name is derived from the verb "stíga" 'mount, rise' - and it is referring to the high and steep mountain Steigtinden ("tinden" = 'the peak') behind the farm.
Coat-of-arms
The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1991). It shows three
axe heads from theViking Age .External links
* [http://www.steigen.kommune.no/ Steigen Municipality]
* [http://www.treveven.no/leksikon/article.asp?Data_ID_Article=86&Data_ID_Channel=2 Treveven:Hassel (Norwegian)]
* [http://www.engelhotel.no/vikingene.htm Iron age in Steigen (Norwegian)]
* [http://www.safeinherit.net/steigen.htm Steigen settled for thousands of years]
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