Fjaerland is the district surrounding Fjaerlandsfjord, a branch of Sognefjord. Fjaerland has 300 inhabitants, and is part of Sogndal municipality. The area has been settled since the Viking Age. The size of the population has varied over the years. Large scale emigration to America took place at the turn of the century. The centre in Fjaerland is Mundal, about 3 km from the main road down the fjord. Mundal centre includes school, church and tourist information, as well as shops, hotels and other services. All the valleys in Fjaerland have mountain pastures, so called "stol" or "saeter". Few of them are in use today. They can be reached by path or cart road.The landscape in Fjaerland has been shaped by glaciers through successive ice ages. Towering mountains and U-shaped valleys surround large delta areas which results from the accumulation of sediment supplied by the glacier rivers. The glaciers Boyabreen and Supphellebreen come down to the valley floor in Fjaerland. These are branches of Jostedalsbreen - the largest glacier on the European continent (487 km²). The ice falls of the glaciers move about 2 metres per day - they are among the fastest in Norway. Parts of Fjaerland lie within Jostedalsbreen National Park. The national park covers 1230 km² and is characterized by great variation within short distances, from fjords and lowland, to mountains and glaciers. Most of the trade is directed towards tourism, which has long traditions in Fjaerland. Over the past 100 years travellers have come to see the fjord, the mountains and glaciers.