Alta (help·info) (also: Áltá [or formerly Álaheadju] in Northern Sami, Alattio or Alta in Finnish/Kven) is a town and municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alta.
Alta was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The new municipality of Talvik was separated from Alta on 1 January 1863, but it was merged back into Alta on 1 January 1964.
The municipal...
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Alta (help·info) (also: Áltá [or formerly Álaheadju] in Northern Sami, Alattio or Alta in Finnish/Kven) is a town and municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alta.
Alta was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The new municipality of Talvik was separated from Alta on 1 January 1863, but it was merged back into Alta on 1 January 1964.
The municipality is probably named after the fjord (Altafjorden). Prior to 1918, the name was written Alten.
The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 9 July 1976. The arms show an arrow point, derived from the findings of quartzite arrow points dating from the late Stone Age and found in the area. The quartzite was quarried in the municipality and tools thereof were all over the Northern Norway.
The Rock carvings at Alta, dating from circa 4200 BC to 500 BC, are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The Komsa culture was named...
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