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[[Image:Odda-Hardangerfjord.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Hardangerfjord as seen fromOddalt Oddavaatades.]]
[[Image:Bergen Hardangerfjord.png|thumb|240px|HardangerfjordHardangerfjordi south and east of Bergenasukoht]]
'''Hardangerfjord''' asub [[Norra]]s ja on suuruselt kolmas [[fjord]] maailmas.
With a length of 179 km (111 miles), the '''Hardangerfjord''' in the county of [[Hordaland]] in [[Norway]] is the third largest [[fjord]] in the world and the [[List of Norwegian fjords|second largest in Norway]]. The surrounding [[districts of Norway|district]] is called [[Hardanger]].
Hardangerfjord saab alguse [[Atlandi ookean]]ist.
The Hardangerfjord starts at the [[Atlantic Ocean]] just south of [[Bergen, Norway|Bergen]] (''SW Norway''). Here the fjord penetrates in a north easterly direction until it meets the grand mountain plateau of [[Hardangervidda]]. The longest branch of the Hardangerfjord is [[Sørfjorden]] which cuts south about 50 km from the main fjord. Its maximum depth is more than 800 m (2,624 ft) just outside [[Norheimsund]] in the middle of the fjord.
==Külgfjordid, mis on ühenduses Hardangerfjordiga==
About 10,000 years ago the [[Scandinavia|Scandinavian]] land mass started to rise up as enormous [[Glacier|glacial]] ice started to melt. The lower parts of the valleys became flooded, and so created what we today know as the Hardangerfjord. The valley was originally not only made through glacial erosion but by the high pressure melting water which pushed its way beneath the ice.
On the Folgefonn [[peninsula]] which belongs to the Hardangerfjord, the third largest glacier in Norway is found. With its three parts, the [[Folgefonn]] glacier covers an area of 220 km² (85 sq mi), and is an area which in 2005 became protected as a national park.
The history of the fjord goes far beyond its [[Viking]] history, back to the time of hunters on the surrounding mountains, and later on, farming along this fertile area which today is considered the fruit orchard of Norway. Later the fjord became the birthplace for a large [[tourism]] influx to Norway, and in 1875 [[Thomas Cook]] started weekly cruise departures from London to the Hardangerfjord, due to its spectacular nature, glaciers and grand waterfalls. Soon after this many of the major waterfalls became the power source for large industries in fjord settlements such as [[Odda]].
Today the Hardangerfjord is witness to a renaissance in tourism and new infrastructure for travellers has once again become an industry for the local communities along the fjord.
The fjord has good conditions for [[fish farming]]. Fish farms yearly produce more than 40.000 tons of [[salmon]] and [[rainbow trout]] (2002) and makes the Hardangerfjord one of four major fish farming regions in the world.
The contemporary fjord is divided among the 13 municipalities [[Bømlo]], [[Eidfjord]], [[Etne]], [[Granvin]], [[Jondal]], [[Kvam]], [[Kvinnherad]], [[Odda]], [[Sund, Norway|Sund]], [[Sveio]], [[Tysnes]], [[Ullensvang]] and [[Ulvik]]. The total number of inhabitants for all these municipalities is only a bit more than 70 thousand - on a total area of 8,471 km².
==Side fjords which connect with Hardangerfjord==
[[Image:Norheimsund i Kvam.JPG|thumb|Hardangerfjord at [[Ytre Samlafjorden]]]]
[[Image:HardangerfjordSunset.jpg|thumb|Hardangerfjord sunset]]
Läänest itta:
From west to east:
* Sissepääs
* Entrance
**[[Husnesfjorden]]
**[[Lokksundet]]
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