Hjeltefjorden is a fjord

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

 in Hordaland

Hordaland

is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...

 in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. Its name is derived from Hjaltland, the Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 name for Shetland - the routes to Shetland ran through Hjeltefjorden. It is a major route into Bergen

Bergen

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....

, and runs from Fedje

Fedje

Fedje is an island municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Fedje was separated from Austrheim on 1 January 1947.The main island of Fedje is surrounded by about 125 smaller islands and rocks mostly north of the main island, and the name Fedje applies both to the main island, and to all the...

 in the north to Byfjorden

Byfjorden

Byfjorden is a fjord in the county of Hordaland, Norway. It separates the island of Askøy from the city of Bergen on the mainland. The western entrance to Byfjorden is between Drotningsvik in Laksevåg, Bergen, and Marikoven on Askøy...

 in the south. It is delimited to the west by the Øygarden

Øygarden

Øygarden is a municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Midhordland. The administrative centre is Rong.Øygarden was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 after the merger of Hjelme and parts of Herdla....

 and Sotra

Sotra

Sotra is the name of an archipelago in Hordaland, Norway, just west of Bergen. The largest island is Store Sotra, while the second-largest and most populated is Litlesotra. The latter and part of Store Sotra are part of Fjell, while southern Sotra is part of Sund. Roughly 25,000 people live on Sotra...

 fjords and to the east by fjords including those of Radøy

Radøy

Radøy is an island municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Radøy was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1964, after the merger of large parts of Hordabø, Manger, and Sæbø, and smaller parts of Austrheim and Lindås.-Name:...

, Holsnøy

Holsnøy

Holsnøy is an island in Meland municipality, Hordaland county, Norway. The area is 88.8 km². The island is the largest within the municipality. There is a bridge over Flatøy to the Lindås peninsula. The highest point is Eldsfjellet at 324 m....

, Herdla

Herdla

Herdla is an island in Askøy, Norway, at the north end of the island of Askøy. The island was part of the municipality of Herdla until 1 January 1964. The island has a nature reserve with 220 registered species of birds...

 and Askøy

Askøy

Askøy is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Since the opening of the Askøy Bridge leading to the mainland in Bergen in 1992, the population has increased rapidly. Its population growth is as of 2008 among the highest in Norway...

. It was the site of the closing stages of the Battle of Alvøen

Battle of Alvøen

The Battle of Alvøen was a sea battle of the Gunboat War between Denmark-Norway and the United Kingdom. It was fought on 16 May 1808 in Vatlestraumen, outside Bergen in Norway, between the British frigate HMS Tartar and a Norwegian force consisting of four kanonjolles and one kanonsjalupps .The...

.