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is a municipality in the county of Møre og Romsdal, Norway.
Surnadal was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Rindal was separated from Surnadal 1858. Stangvik and Åsskard (separated from Stangvik May 1, 1895) were merged with Surnadal January 1, 1965.

Contents

The name

Geography

Coat-of-arms

Nature

Famous residents

The name

The Old Norse form of the name was ''Surnardalr''. The first element is the genitive case of the rivername Surna, the last element is ''dalr'' m 'valley, dale'. The meaning of the rivername is unknown.
Until 1918 the name was written ''Surendalen''.

Geography

The municipality is made up by the main valley of Surnadal and many smaller valleys and villages, such as Bæverfjord, Bæverdalen, Bøfjorden, Østbødalen, Todalen, Stangvik and Øvre Surnadal. The municipality is bordered by the mountain range Trollheimen and the municipality Sunndal to the south, the neighbouring municipality Rindal to the east, the municipality Halsa to the north and fjords to the west.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1989). The silver lines represent the many rivers in the municipality.

Nature

The nature is a combination of forests, fjords and mountains. The highest mountain peak is Snota, 1,668 m.a.s. The river Surna runs through the valley from the east to the west, and forms a large delta where it enters the fjord. This river is rich on salmon, which attract tourists from the rest of the country and abroad. A mild climate and rich soil make Surnadal well suited for agriculture. The local economy is based on agriculture, forestry and industrial production, in addition to services. The administrative centre is Skei. Communications include ferries to the southwest and the northwest, which lead to the coastal areas of Møre og Romsdal, and a highway to the city of Trondheim to the east.

Famous residents

Surnadal is noted for strong traditions in the field of poetry and folklore, and is the home of the late Hans Hyldbakk, a nationally recognized author of poetry and local history.
Explorer Rune Gjeldnes is also from Surnadal.