Langebudalen

Stordalen

When the Etne water system was protected in 1994, preservation of the cultural landscape in Stordalen Valley was a a main objective. This is a valley with an exceptional abundance of Different types of plants and animals. In the grey alder forest in Stordalen there are more bird species than in most other places, in fact, denser than one tends to find in a tropical rainforest.

Fitjarøyane

If we study the group of islands south of Selbjørns Fjord from the air or on a sea map, we will notice that many of the islands are elongated and lie systematically in rows. The islands are divided by long sounds, for example Trollosen, Nuleia and Hjelmosen, which are oriented in a south-southeast to north-northwesterly direction.

Rimbareid- Vestbøstad

At nesting time you cannot avoid hearing the calls of the curlew or the snipe along the narrow road through the cultural landscape from Rimbareid to Vestbøstad. And on late summer evenings, the intense song of the sedge warbler rings out over the two characteristic tarns in the area.

Hopsfjellet

On June 2nd, 1992, a big forest fire broke out in Sveio. The fire started southeast of Hopsfjellet. In a strong wind the flames spread quickly northward. Houses on the other side of the highway were threatened, but escaped unscathed. The burned area, which is easily visible about a 5 minute's drive south from the tunnel at the triple- junction, was made into a nature reserve in 1998. The intention was to ensure that the re-establishment of plant- and animal life would take place without disturbance.

Krokavatnet

On Sunday the 29th of January, 1989, at 17:38 o'clock, Etna shook. The earthquake, with its epicentre ca. 9 kilometres south of Etne centre, had a strength of 4.2 on the Richters scale. This could be felt over large parts of West Land, especially in the areas around Åkra, Etne, Hardanger Fjord and Sauda Fjord. The earthquake was the largest that has ever been measured in Hordaland.

Bjellandsvatnet

Lake Bjellandsvatnet is one of the richest wetland areas in Sveio. But, everything has its limit, and the supply of nutrients can be too much. This is what was about to happen in Lake Bjellandsvatnet.

Einstapevoll- slates

“On the country of Wallestrand…the rock almost everywhere appears to be of a slate-like substance, be it at the seashore, on the farms or in their distant fields”.