Junkerdalen

Junkerdalen (Norwegian; lit. 'Junker valley') or Juŋŋkárvuobme (Lule Sami) is a valley in Saltdal Municipality in Nordland county. It is a side valley to the main Saltdalen valley. The Junkerdalen valley begins at the village of Storjord from where it stretches in a south-easterly direction towards Graddis and the national border with Sweden. The beginning of Junkerdalen is a narrow gorge called Junkerdalsura, where Junkerdalselva flows into waterfalls and rapids before it joins with Lønselva and after this, it is called Saltdalselva. The side valleys Tjårrisdalen and Skaitidalen go out from Junkerdalen in a northerly direction. Up in the valley, Graddiselva and Skaitielva flow together, and from here the river is called Junkerdalselva. Between Tjårrisdalen and Junkerdalsura lies the village of Junkerdal.

The entire valley is around 22 kilometres (14 mi) long from Storjord to the border with Sweden. From the end of Junkerdalsura and further up the valley, the height is around 200 metres (660 ft) above sea level and the valley has a slight rise here, but approximately where the side valley Skaiti begins, the valley becomes steep. At the national border, the height is around 600 metres (2,000 ft). The valley is surrounded by large mountains; the most prominent are Solvågtinden and Båtfjellet. There are settlements like Junkerdal throughout the valley. Norwegian County Road 77 towards Sweden also runs through the entire valley. Junkerdalsura nature reserve and Stor-Graddis nature reserve have been established in the area. The valley otherwise has a lot of pine forest, but also birch and mixed forest. Previously, there was a mountain lodge at Graddis.