Tafjord[2] is a village in Fjord Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is very isolated and (other than by boat) the only way into the valley is by road from the village of Sylte. The road is composed almost entirely of two tunnels through the very steep mountains along the edge of the Tafjorden: the 5.3-kilometre (3.3mi)Heggur Tunnel and the 700-metre (2,300ft) long Skjegghammar Tunnel.[3]
Geography
Landslide scar still visible, seen from Tafjord village
The village is in a valley located at the end of the Tafjorden, about 12 kilometres (7.5mi) southeast of the village of Sylte, and just west of the borders of Reinheimen National Park. In the park, the mountains Tordsnose, Karitinden, and Puttegga all lie about 15 kilometres (9.3mi) to the southeast of Tafjord in the Tafjordfjella mountain range.
Tafjord landslide
On 7 April 1934, a rockslide of about 2,000,000 cubic metres (2,600,000yd3) of rock fell off the mountain Langhamaren from a height of about 700 metres (2,300ft). The rock landed in the Tafjorden which created a local megatsunami which killed 34 people[4] living on the shore of the fjord. The waves reached a height of 62 metres (203ft) near the landslide, about 7 metres (23ft) at Sylte, and about 16 metres (52ft) at Tafjord. It was one of the worst natural disasters in Norway in the 20th century.[3]
Climate
The weather station in Tafjord has been recording since 1925, and holds the record for the highest temperature in Norway in November at 21.8°C (71.2°F). The January record 18.7°C (65.7°F) was recorded the night before 29 January 2024. These high temperatures in winter and late autumn are primarily due to foehn wind.
Climate data for Tafjord 1991-2020 (11 m, extremes 1930-2024)
