Balsfjorden

Entrance to Balsfiord

Balsfiord ( North Sami Báhccavuotna ) is a fjord in the municipalities of Tromsø and Balsfiord in Troms in Norway. The fjord extends 49 km to the south of the fjord mouth to Nordkjosbotn at the head of the fjord.

The fjord has its mouth between the Balsnesodden peninsula in the west and Ytre mountain in the east a little bit south of Tromsø. West of the Balsnesodden Straumsfjord begins west along the south side of the island Kvaloya. Between the peninsula and the village Ramfjordneset Andersdal on the west side just south of the mouth of the Ramfjord branches off to the east. This is the only fjord arm of Balsfjords. Opposite Andersdal is the place Kobbevågen a little further inside the fjord begins Balsfiord.

Stornes is a hamlet on the east side of the fjord, just after the municipal border and a little further south is the hamlet Storbukta. A little further inside the fjord in the place Malangseidet located on the west side. The west side of Balsfjords is dominated by hohne mountains, but at Malangseidet branches off a valley that leads to the Splitze Malangsfjords (also Norwegian Malangen ) and the Nordfjord. Opposite Malangseidet is Svartnes and here the Balsfiord bends to the east. Longitudinal this piece are the villages Middagsbukta and Sletta and the hamlet Sandøyra on the south side. The hamlet Kantornes located on the north side and the village Laksvatn little to the east of the fjord turn south again.

Storsteinnes, the community center of Balsfiord, located on the inside of the bay Sørkjosen the very south of the fjord. There the Balsfiord turns east again and then ends in Nordkjosbotn where the European roads E6 and E8 unite. The innermost part of the fjord is called Nordkjosen. The E8 runs on the east side of the fjord north to Kantornes. The E6 follows the south side of the fjord in the innermost part. Other streets in the vicinity of the fjord are the N859 (Norwegian Riksvei 859 ) along the west side north of Storsteinnes and the N858 (Norwegian Riksvei 858 ) along the west side to the north of Malangseidet fjord away. The Regional Road 294 (Norwegian Fylkesvei 294 ) runs along the eastern side of the fjord vonKantornes to Andersdal and on the south side south of Kantornes the regional road runs 297 (Norwegian Fylkesvei 297 ).

Under the name Balsfiord våtmarksystem two Asked protected wetlands are summarized:

• Kobbevågen nature reserve, established December 8, 1995 6.2 km ²
• Sørkjosleira nature reserve, established December 8, 1995 3.7 km ²

Both consist of beach meadows, silt - and sand-banks, which are influenced by the tides. These areas have been designated as Special Protection Areas under the Ramsar Convention.