Nedre Helland- Sand Quarries

The three spades in the municipal coat of arms for Modalen are sand spades. Sand quarrying has brought income and employment. As much as 70,000-80,0000 tonnes of sand and gravel left the municipality each year since the turn of the millennium, to be used as cementing sand. Why is Modalen endowed with so much sand?

Straume- maritime environment

Kvalvågen

Landsvik

Lake Nesheimvatnet

Eksingedalen- landscape

Eksingedalen alternates between wide, flat flood plains with good farmland, and narrow passages with waterfalls where the roads cling to the mountainsides. The alternations in the landscape are a result of the sculpturing work by glaciers over several ice ages, and the deposition of the glacial river deposits when the last glacier finally melted back.

Mostraumen

Until 1743 the people from Modal had to wait for a flood in MOSTRAUMEN before they could draw their boats up the river current, and then row back across Lake Movatnet. But, that year the flood opened a free passageway all the way to Mo. Hordaland had gained a new tidal waterway.

Stormark

Both the climate and people have been decisive in shaping the bog landscape on Fedje - a landscape that has been evolving over several thousands of years. The peat got built up layer for layer and provided income and fuel for the people of Fedje.

Fedje bog

The wild rabbit is really native to Northwest Africa, but the Ancient Romans introduced them to large parts of Europe. Not to Norway, rightly enough: the population on Fedje originated from 3-4 pairs that were brought here from the Shetland Isles in 1875, making this their first residence in the country.

Leirvågen

A marsh is a grassy meadow that is strongly influenced by salt from the sea. This type of nature is abundant in Denmark, among other places. The flatlands along the river that run out by Leirvågen, are the municipalities' largest marsh. At spring tide, these flatlands are flooded underwater for several hundred metres in over land.