Borgåsen

In Etne there are no less than four defensive refuges. They are all situated in strategic positions, so that they have served as places of refuge and protection for central parts of the district

Etnedeltaet

During the latter half of the 1900s the big natural river deltas on Westland disappeared. Until the 1980s there was still a small, but significant remnant of the original river delta from the Etneelva river, but today most of this, too, is industrial land.

Etne river

There is still life to be found that is just “hanging on a string”. The Etne river has been the most important river for sports- fisherman in Hordaland after salmon fishing in Vosso was temporarily forbidden. As late as 2000, 4 tonnes of salmon and sea trout were taken out of the Etne river, the best fishing for 10 years. In the whole of the county there are only 15-20 rivers that can compete with this haul.

Engesundsvatnet

Ådlandsvatnet

Plants that grow in and beside water have to be prepared for marked and rapid changes in their living conditions. They must be able to tolerate living under water without drowning, and getting totally dried out without whithering. Many swamp plants are well adapted to these kinds of changes.

Hovdanes

Lønaøyane

The Strandaelvi river is forever protected from the development of hydropower. The Lønaøyane islands – which comprise the delta furthest north in Lake Lønavatnet - are a part of this water system. In 1995 the level of protection for the Lønaøyne islands was strengthened to that of a nature preserve because of the rich birdlife in this wetland.

Myrkdalsdeltaet

Mykdal delta had an unusually diverse bird life, right up until 1987. The Myrkdal delta should have been protected, and the plans were prepared. Despite the area's high elevation at 227 m a.s.l., it had a wide variety of bird species compared with other fresh water wetlands in inner Hordaland. Several of the bird species were also unusual for the region. The delta had for example a permanent nesting colony of Eurasian Wigeon, believed to be the only one of its kind in the municipality.

Rekvemylna

If you enter the farmyard at Rekve, some kilometres from Bulken, where the road departs to Giljarhus, you no longer meet “the miller”, Knut Hernes, in his old rural mill. But some years ago he would wish you welcome, friendly and hospitable, and show you around his mill, which had been his workplace for a generation. As light-footed as a youth he climbed in steep ladders high up into the waterfall, to let the water down on to the waterwheel.

Rekvesøyane

The sediment that was deposited from the river Dyrvo has created the fan-shaped delta Rekvesøyane. The bit of land farthest out toward the water gets periodically flooded, especially during snow melt and after periods of much rain.