Interesting facts about Strand
The Municipality of strand comprises 215 km², 60% of which is land, 10% lakes and streams, and 30% fjords and sea. The majority of the municipality’s 10 500 residents live in the vicinity of the two main villages, Jørpeland and Tau.
The variation of landscapes in Strand is impressive. Even within short
distances or in a small area you may experience the most amazing contrasts. Much
of our municipality is hilly or mountainous, but there are also a few flat
expanses. The various islands and islets each have their own personality, as do
the fjords and coves, and the mountains that rise up to nearly 800 metres above
sea level. Whether enjoying the view from one of the peaks, travelling by car,
or walking our many well-marked trails, you will see lakes both large and small,
as well as streams joining to form rivers that rush to the sea. The major
valleys run east–west. Our most mountainous terrain is located to the northeast,
east and southeast of Jørpeland village, while flatter terrain is found near Tau
and Bjørheimsbygd.
Much of strand is naked bedrock, primarily granite and gneiss. If you look closely, these are dominated by metamorphic, porphyritic granite, which is a fairly uniform and barren rock type. There are also a few areas of amphibolitic rock and pegmatite intrusions, as well as paragneiss metamorphosed from sedimentary layers. There is a clear distinction between bedrock and thrust-sheets in the Strand region.
Should you draw a straight line on the map from Jørpeland to the mouth of Tysdalsvatn lake, and from there to Sørskår, you will find mostly bedrock consisting of porphyritic granite east of this line, while the area west of it is dominated by various types of thrust-sheets, mainly gneiss that contains quartz and feldspar. In addition, large deposits of sand, gravel and clay are to be found between Tau, Tysdalsvatn and Jørpeland. An exciting area for geologists is Ormakam, east of Fiskå, where you can find microline-granite, characterised by a minimal degree of metamorphosis that usually intrudes into far deeper layers of bedrock.
Roughly 650 plant species have been registered in Strand, providing further
testimony of the rich variety in landscapes. You will find coastal and alpine
flora, woodland plants, and plant species associated with grazing land and
agriculture. Strand is one of the best-mapped municipalities in Rogaland county
in regards to flora, thanks to the thorough botanical investigations led by Ove
S. Førland. For eager amateur botanists, there are nevertheless a few
“uncharted” tracts in northern Strand and on a few of the islands.
Some of the rarer plant species are blue sow-thistle, white and broad-leafed helleborines, coralroot orchid, bird’s nest orchid, small white orchid, holly fern and other ferns, common twayblade, creeping lady’s tresses, yellow bird’s nest orchid, and the greater and lesser butterfly orchids.
The fauna of Strand is varied and
well-adapted to the various ecosystems and terrains found in our region. Along
the coast the observant visitor will spot many species of sea birds, many of
which nest in the local bird reserves. Further inland you may see rough-legged
hawks, great horned owls, white-backed woodpeckers, goshawks, pheasants, loons,
wood grouse and black grouse.
Our municipality also has a large population of deer, roe-deer and moose.
Strand has a relatively mild and moist
climate, and the weather can change rapidly. February is the coldest month with
an average temperature of 0.8°C. The warmest months are July and August, with an
average of 14.5°C. The summer months each have an average of 220 hours of sunny
weather – which is 50 hours more than the city of Bergen.
There are registered 155 historical
sites and monuments that predate the Reformation of 1537 AD. These include 75
grave mounds, 37 burial sites, 3 stoneworks, 3 rural fortifications, 3
farmsteads, 3 ancient boathouse foundations, 3 prehistoric shelters under
overhanging cliffs, 4 petroglyph sites, 1 pit used to trap animals, and 8
monoliths.