Editing Saltdal Municipality (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Nordland-Nasjonalparksenter.jpg|thumb|right|Nordland National Park Centre is situated at [[Storjord]], Saltdal]]
[[File:Zwischen Narvik & Mo i Rana 1 Norwegen.JPG|thumb|left|To the north, Saltdal borders [[Saltdal Fjord]], innermost part of Skjerstadfjord, with road and railway to Fauske on the eastern slope of the fjord.]]
[[File:Junkerdalen-nature-reserve-saltdal2-norway.jpg|thumb|left|Part of Junkerdal Nature Reserve]]
The main population centre in the municipality is [[Rognan]], on the southern shore of the [[Saltdal Fjord]], where the valley floor meets the [[fjord]]. When the [[Ice age]] ended and the ice had melted 9,000 years ago, the valley was a fjord as the sea reached what is today an elevation of {{convert|120|m}} due to [[isostatic depression]]. The valley is situated north of the [[Arctic Circle]]. The highest point in the municipality is the {{convert|1755.98|m|adj=on}} tall mountain ''Nordre Saulo'', located within [[Junkerdal National Park]].<ref name="elev" />

Two national parks are partially in the municipality: [[Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park]] in the southwest, and [[Junkerdal National Park]] in the eastern part. This makes Saltdal one of the municipalities in Norway with the largest percentage of protected areas within its borders. The river [[Saltdalselva]] runs through the valley. The [[Stream bed|riverbed]] appears very bright in some places due to the minerals in the sand. The valley is covered with [[Scots pine|pine]] [[forest]] and [[birch]] and other trees are common as well. Lakes in the region include [[Balvatnet]], [[Fiskeløysvatnet (Saltdal)|Fiskeløysvatnet]], [[Kjemåvatnet]], and [[Nordre Bjøllåvatnet]]. The mountain [[Ørfjellet]] is also located in the municipality.

===Climate===
The municipality lies on the northeastern side of the [[Saltfjellet]] mountains, in the [[rain shadow]] of the mountains. With mountains surrounding it in almost all directions, Saltdal is one of the driest areas in Norway, especially the upper part of the valley. For five years in a row, 2001 to 2005, and then again in 2007 and 2008, the weather station in the upper part of the Saltdal valley recorded the least [[Precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] in all of continental Norway, with only {{convert|74|mm}} in 2005. The weather station (81 m ASL) was situated in the upper part of the valley (''Storjord'') at a farm from 1982 to 2012. From 2013 onwards, the weather station (39 m) is situated about {{convert|6|km}} down the valley at a camping site (''Nordnes''), but still in the upper part of the valley (''Øvre Saltdal''). Data from the first station (81 m) shows this to be the driest place in Norway (excluding Svalbard), with on average just over {{convert|200|mm}} precipitation annually.

In spite of the low precipitation, Saltdal has lush vegetation with meadows and forests on the side of the mountains due to the low temperatures reducing [[evapotranspiration]]. Due to the rarity of extreme cold snaps, the environment and plant hardiness resemble latitudes further south in the Nordic interior.

Located in an inland valley, Saltdal is also known for its warm summer days, frequently being one of Norway's warmest locations if the right weather situation occurs (with easterly or southeasterly winds blowing). It is not uncommon with daytime temperatures approaching and sometimes exceeding {{convert|30|C}} in the summer months. Similarly, winter temperatures can be quite cold, often dropping below {{convert|-20|C}} on a clear day.

During a heatwave in June 2011, Saltdal recorded four days in a row with daytime temperatures exceeding {{convert|30|C}}. On 11 June 2011, Saltdal recorded a daytime high of {{convert|33.8|C}}, which was a new heat record for Nordland county in the month of June.<ref>[http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Nordland/Saltdal/%c3%98vre_Saltdal/statistics.html Saltdal/statistics.html]</ref> During the [[July 2019 European heat wave]] the temperature reached at {{convert|34.6|C}} in Saltdal, the highest temperature ever measured north of the Arctic Circle in Norway.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |title=Weather statistics for Nordnes, Saltdal |url=https://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Nordland/Saltdal/Nordnes/statistics.html |access-date=11 August 2019 |website=yr.no/ |publisher=[[Norwegian Meteorological Institute]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=28 July 2019 |title=Saltdal-Nordnes |url=https://www.ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=01169&ano=2019&mes=7&day=28&hora=0&min=0&ndays=30 |access-date=11 August 2019 |website=ogimet.com |publisher=OGIMET}}</ref>
The all-time low {{convert|-32.2|C}} was recorded January 2010.

{{Weather box 
|metric first= yes
|single line = yes
|location = Saltdal 1991-2020 (81 m, avg high/low 1991-2012, extremes 1982-2020 incl earlier and present station)
|Jan record high C = 12.9 | Jan record low C = -32.5
|Feb record high C = 11.8 | Feb record low C = -31.6
|Mar record high C = 14.8 | Mar record low C = -26.5
|Apr record high C = 19.5 | Apr record low C =-20.3
|May record high C = 29.7 | May record low C = -7.0
|Jun record high C = 33.8 | Jun record low C = -3.0
|Jul record high C = 34.6 | Jul record low C = -1.0
|Aug record high C = 32.6 | Aug record low C = -2.4
|Sep record high C = 25.9 | Sep record low C = -8.2
|Oct record high C = 20.3 | Oct record low C = -18.0
|Nov record high C = 15.3 | Nov record low C = -26.6
|Dec record high C = 13.3 | Dec record low C = -28.0
|Jan high C = -1.1
|Feb high C = -1.5
|Mar high C = 2.3
|Apr high C = 6.9
|May high C = 12.0
|Jun high C = 16.9
|Jul high C = 20.4
|Aug high C = 17.3
|Sep high C = 13.2
|Oct high C = 6.5
|Nov high C = 1.7
|Dec high C = -0.6
<!-- Mean daily temperature -->
|Jan mean C=-4.3
|Feb mean C=-4.7
|Mar mean C=-2.7
|Apr mean C=1.9
|May mean C=7.0
|Jun mean C=11.4
|Jul mean C=14.3
|Aug mean C=12.8
|Sep mean C=8.1
|Oct mean C=3.2
|Nov mean C=-1.0
|Dec mean C=-2.9
|year mean C=
|Jan low C = -6.1
|Feb low C = -7.5
|Mar low C = -5.3
|Apr low C = -0.9
|May low C = 2.8
|Jun low C = 6.1
|Jul low C = 9.7
|Aug low C = 8.7
|Sep low C = 5.3
|Oct low C = 0.7
|Nov low C = -3.2
|Dec low C = -5.2
|year low C =
<!-- Total precipitation, this should include rain and snow. -->
|precipitation colour= green<!-- Enter "green" for green precipitation colours, remove this line for blue colouring. -->
|Jan precipitation mm=27
|Feb precipitation mm=16
|Mar precipitation mm=15
|Apr precipitation mm=6
|May precipitation mm=10
|Jun precipitation mm=14
|Jul precipitation mm=21
|Aug precipitation mm=22
|Sep precipitation mm=24
|Oct precipitation mm=20
|Nov precipitation mm=14
|Dec precipitation mm=17
|year precipitation mm=
<!-- Mandatory fields, source -->
|source 1= eklima/Norwegian Meteorological Institute<ref>{{Cite web |title=eKlima Web Portal |url=http://eklima.met.no |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040614073527/http://eklima.met.no |archive-date=2004-06-14 |publisher=Norwegian Meteorological Institute}}</ref>
|source 2=Infoclimat Saltdal 1991-2012<ref>{{Cite web |title=Infoclimat Saltdal 1991-2012 (average high and low) |url=https://www.infoclimat.fr/climatologie/normales-records/1991-2012/saltdal/valeurs/01169.html}}</ref>
|date=22 July 2021
}}