Målselv

Målselv is a municipality in the county of Troms, Norway. Besides bordering on Sweden to the east, and the ocean (Malangen fjord) to the west, it borders on the municipalities of Balsfjord, Storfjord, Bardu, Sørreisa and Lenvik.

Målselv was settled by farmers from southern Norway, especially Østerdalen from 1788 and onwards. They were attracted by the uninhabited land with vast forests and areas of fertile land in the Målselv valley. The valley and municipality take their name from the river Målselva. The river empties into the Malangen fjord north of Olsborg.

Bardufoss Airport and the Royal Norwegian Air Force Bardufoss Air Station is situated here.

A local newspaper, Nye Troms, covering Målselv, Bardu and Balsfjord, has its main office in the Olsborg area. The municipality administration is located at Moen, about 2km east of Olsborg. Further south along the E6 is the Bardufoss region, which encompasses local communities Andselv and Heggelia, the latter including the Norwegian armed forces 6th division, as well as the 337th and 339th Air Force helicopter squadrons.

Moving further inland, another local community is Rundhaug, and moving eastwards, closer yet to Øvre Dividalen National park (740km²), is the community Øverbygd, housing two more sub-communities - Skjold and Holt. The former also houses an army base for mechanised infantry and combat engineers. Målselv municipality, together with Bardu has the largest concentration of army bases in the country.

1 The name
2 Coat-of-arms
3 Birdlife
4 External links

[edit] The name

The municipality is named after the river Målselva. The first element is the genitive case of the old uncompounded name of the fjord Malangen: *Malr, the last element is (the finitt form of) elv f 'river'. The old name of the fjord is identical with the word malr m 'bag, sack' (referring to the shape of the fjord).

Until 1918 the name was written "Maalselven".

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1985). The silver line represents the river Målselva.

[edit] Birdlife

Stretching from the Swedish border to the Norwegian coast, Målselv has a rich and varied birdlife and some great areas to watch them. Two of these areas are Øvre Dividal national park and the Målselv delta, especially where it runs out at Malangen. There is also a bird observatory in the municipality called Dividalen Fuglestasjon For more information check;Bird Watching In Norway - Målselv

[edit] External links

Picture and information regarding Bardufoss Airport from Avinor

Municipalities of Troms
Balsfjord \| Bardu \| Berg \| Bjarkøy \| Dyrøy \| Gratangen \| Harstad \| Ibestad \| Karlsøy \| Kvæfjord \| Kvænangen \| Kåfjord \| Lavangen \| Lenvik \| Lyngen \| Målselv \| Nordreisa \| Salangen \| Skjervøy \| Skånland \| Storfjord \| Sørreisa \| Torsken \| Tranøy \| Tromsø