Sunndal

is a municipality in the Nordmøre traditional district located in the northeast part of the county of Møre og Romsdal, Norway. It is bordered on the west by Nesset and Tingvoll, on the north by Surnadal, on the east by Oppdal, Sør-Trøndelag and on the south by Lesja, Oppland.

Sunndal was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Øksendal was separated 1854, but again merged with Sunndal January 1, 1960. Ålvundeid (separated from Øksendal January 1, 1899) was also merged with Sunndal January 1, 1960.

The name

The Old Norse form of the name was Sunndalr. The first element is sunnr 'southern', the last element is dalr m 'valley, dale'.

Until 1870 the name was written Sunddalen (or Sunndalen), in the period 1870-1917 Sundalen, from 1918 on Sunndal.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1983). It shows a Norwegian wormwood (Artemisia norvegica). This species has its main European distribution in Sunndal and Oppdal - in the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park and in Trollheimen landscape protected area. Small populations also in Ryfylke, Scotland and Ural Mountains, with another subspecies in the mountains of Northern America. Many places in the mountains of Sunndal - well above tree-line - it may be found in abundance.

Geography

With an area of 1,712 km² it is the largest municipality in Møre og Romsdal. The municipality center is located at Sunndalsøra. Important occupations include industry, with Hydro Aluminium Sunndal as the biggest employer, public services, retail and farming.

In the southern part of the municipality lies the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, rich in the impressive animal moskus. In the northern part the Trollheimen and Innerdalen landscape protection areas.