Saltdal

The municipality lies on the northeastern side of the mountains of Saltfjellet, in the rain shadow of the mountains, and with mountains in almost all directions, Saltdal is one of the driest areas in Norway. For five years in a row, 2001 to 2005, and then again in 2007, Saltdal (upper part of valley) was the weather station with the least precipitation in Norway, with only 74 mm in 2005. Saltdal is also known for its warm summer days, frequently being one of Norway's warmest locations if the right weather situation occurs (east or southeasterlies). Monthly 24-hr averages range from -6°C in January to 14°C in July (1961-90 base period, source Norges Meteorologiske Institutt), and the annual average is 3.3°C. Average temperatures are below freezing from early November to the last days of March. Summer starts at the beginning of June, which averages 12°C, and lasts for about three months. October averages 4°C. April and May are the driest months, with less than 10 mm precipitation, and October is the wettest month. This data is from the driest, upper part of the valley, and most other parts of the municipality averages about twice as much precipitaiton; Junkerdal (210 m above sea level) averages 600 mm annually.

Two national parks are in, or partly in, the municipality: Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park in the southwest, and Junkerdal National Park in the eastern part. This makes Saltdal one of the municipalites in Norway with the largest percentage of protected areas within its borders. The Saltdal river (known as "Saltdalselva" by locals) runs through the valley. The river bed appears very bright in some places due to the minerals in the sand. The valley is covered with pine forest and birch and other trees are common as well.

To the north, Saltdal borders Saltdalsfjord, innermost part of Skjerstadfjord, with road and railway to Fauske on the eastern slope of the fjord.

[edit] Communications

The European route E6 passes through the entire length of Saltdal, and the Nordlandsbanen railway runs alongside it. A road running east through the Junkerdalen valley leads to Sweden. The nearest main airport is in Bodø, a nearly two hour drive from Rognan.

[edit] Economy

Saltdal has a great history in building boats out of local timber. Especially before World War II, the boatbuilding industry employed a large percentage of Saltdal's population. Nowadays, the largest employer in Saltdal is Nexans. The company's Rognan factory specializes in telecommunication and copper cables. There is also some agriculture in Saltdal, and many people work within public service.

[edit] History

Memorial for the blood road

During World War II, the Germans decided to lengthen the Nordlandsbanen from Lønsdal in Saltfjellet. Over a period of three years, the original plan was to first have both the road and the railroad all the way to Narvik and then on to Kirkenes, but they only managed to build the railroad to Bodø. The Germans continued to lengthen the road to Kirkenes, and it came to be known as Blodvegen (the Bloodroad) by locals. This project involved prisoners of war, mostly from the former Jugoslavia and Soviet Union, in building this road under extremely harsh conditions. The workers lived in prisoner camps where they did not receive enough food for the hard work with the road. This caused many of the workers to collapse and die. A famous sign of this road is the blood cross one of the prisoners drew on the mountainside with his recently killed friend's blood. It has become a tradition to repaint this cross with red paint, so people who pass this will never forget what happened. It's still possible to walk this road, which stretches from Saltnes to Saksenvika. At Saltnes, you will find the Bloodroad museum. Saltdal was known for having some of the most horrifying prisoner camps in Norway during World War II. A grand total of 15-18 camps with 9500 Russian, Polish and Serbian prisoners was located in the valley.

[edit] The name

The Norse form of the name must have been *Salptardalr. The first element is the genitive case of the rivername *Salpt (now Saltelva), the last element is dalr m 'valley, dale'. The meaning of the rivername is unknown.