The
desolately beautiful Lofoten Islands,
high above the Arctic Circle off
the coast of Norway, have long
attracted the attention of the
wider world because of the terrifying
marine phenomenon off their shores
known as Maelström. A convergance
of fast-flowing currents close
to Moskenesøy, the furthest
out to see of the five main islands,
creates a mighty whirlpool.
marine channel and strong
tidal current of the Norwegian Sea,
in the Lofoten islands, northern Norway.
Flowing between the islands of Moskenesøya
(north) and Mosken (south), it has
a treacherous current. About 5 miles
(8 km) wide, alternating in flow between
the open sea on the west and Vestfjorden
on the east, the current reaches a
speed of 7 miles (11 km) per hour
with the changing of the tides. Strong
local winds make the passage additionally
dangerous. The word maelstrom entered
the English language via the fiction
of the French novelist Jules Verne
and the American short-story writer
Edgar Allan Poe, who exaggerated the
current of the channel into a great
whirlpool; the word in English designates
a large, fatal whirlpool, engulfing
vessels and men, or a figurative application
of the idea.[3]
The Lofoten Islands
are characterised by their mountains
and peaks, sheltered inlets, stretches
of seashore and large virgin areas.
The highest mountain in Lofoten is
Higravstinden (1,161 m / 3,800 ft)
in Austvågøy; the Møysalen
National Park just northeast of Lofoten
has mountains reaching 1,262 m. The
famous Moskstraumen (Malstrøm)
system of tidal eddies is located
in western Lofoten, and is indeed
the root of the term maelstrom. The
sea is rich with life, and the world's
largest deep water coral reef is located
west of Røst. Lofoten has a
very high density of sea eagles and
cormorants, and millions of other
sea birds, among them the colourful
puffin. Otters are common, and there
are moose on the largest islands.
There are some woodland with Downy
birch and Rowan. There are no native
conifer forest in Lofoten, but some
small areas with private spruce plantations.
Sorbus hybrida ("Rowan whitebeam")
and Malus sylvestris occur in Lofoten,
but not further north.[4]
The Maelstrom is located
above the artic circle, off the Lofoten
Islands in Norway. Where the Artic and
Atlantic Oceans meet, where the North
and Berrents meet. At times, the tidal
currents apparently move in and out
at up to 30 miles per hour.
