Mosjøen

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Mosjøen
—  Town  —
Sunrise in Mosjøen
Mosjøen is located in Norway
Mosjøen
Coordinates: 65°50′N 13°12′E / 65.833°N 13.2°E / 65.833; 13.2
Country Norway
County Nordland
Municipality Vefsn
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

About this sound Mosjøen is a town in the municipality of Vefsn in Nordland county, Norway. The town has approximately 12,000 inhabitants.

Mosjøen was separated from Vefsn as a town, and municipality of its own, in 1876. It was again merged with Vefsn January 1, 1962. It is the oldest town in the Helgeland region, and the second oldest in Nordland.

Contents

[edit] Geography

The town is situated in the lower part of the Vefsn valley where the rivers Vefsna and Skjerva flow into the Vefsnfjord (Vefsnfjorden means "the Vefsn fjord"); the town centre lies in between these two rivers on flat land near the head of the fjord. The Vefsna river is the largest in Nordland by waterflow. In addition to the rivers and the fjord, the town is surrounded by mountains, green hills and forests. The Øyfjellet mountain (814 m) just west of the town is a well known landmark.

The old Sjøgata in Mosjøen
Dolstad Church, January 2007

[edit] Climate

Mosjøen is located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of the Arctic circle, and has a wet and mild subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc), bordering on subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfc). Mosjøen has relatively warm summers and mild winters compared to other places on similar latitudes, largely due to its proximity to the ocean. Mosjøen also receives a large amount of percipitation, particularly in the autumn months. Its climate is similar to that of Juneau, Alaska, only with slightly colder temperatures in the winter and early spring.

Climate data for Mosjøen
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −5
(23)
−4
(25)
0
(32)
5
(41)
10
(50)
13
(55)
18
(64)
17
(63)
12
(54)
7
(45)
−3
(27)
−6
(21)
5.3
(41.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) −5.7
(21.7)
−4.5
(23.9)
−1.6
(29.1)
2.4
(36.3)
7.6
(45.7)
11.6
(52.9)
13.4
(56.1)
12.8
(55.0)
8.6
(47.5)
4.6
(40.3)
−1.4
(29.5)
−4.2
(24.4)
3.63
(38.54)
Average low °C (°F) −9
(16)
−10
(14)
−8
(18)
0
(32)
4
(39)
7
(45)
12
(54)
10
(50)
5
(41)
2
(36)
−7
(19)
−10
(14)
−0.3
(31.4)
Precipitation mm (inches) 186
(7.32)
135
(5.31)
150
(5.91)
99
(3.9)
79
(3.11)
80
(3.15)
100
(3.94)
116
(4.57)
191
(7.52)
230
(9.06)
181
(7.13)
198
(7.8)
1,745
(68.7)
Source: [1] [2]

[edit] History

Mosjøen was founded in the 17th century as local farmers met here to trade, and has been growing since then. Sawmills were built here in 1866 by a British company, and Mosjøen got township rights in 1875. It is the oldest town in the Helgeland region and the second oldest town in Nordland county. Alcoa has an aluminium plant in Mosjøen.

[edit] Communications

Mosjøen seen from Kulstadlia
Sunset in Mosjøen at 00:16 on July 4, 2007

The town is served by the Mosjøen Airport, Kjærstad that opened in 1987. The E6 road goes through Mosjøen, as does the Nordlandsbanen railway line. Mosjøen is 390 km north of Trondheim by road, and 90 km south of Mo i Rana.

[edit] International relations

[edit] Twin towns — sister cities

Mosjøen is twinned with:

[edit] External links

[edit] References

Coordinates: 65°50′N 13°12′E / 65.833°N 13.2°E / 65.833; 13.2


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