Sandane, Vereide, and Sørstranda are centered on the Gloppefjorden in Gloppen in the central part of the municipality.

The villages of Byrkjelo, Re, Kandal, and Egge are centered on the lake Breimsvatnet in the Breim area in the east.

The villages of Straume, Eimhjellen, and Solheim are located around the Hyefjorden in Hyen in the west.

The European route E39 highway runs through the municipality before crossing the Nordfjorden on a car ferry.

The original municipality was identical to the Gloppen parish (prestegjeld) including the sub-parishes (sokn) of Gimmestad, Breim, and Vereide.

On 1 January 1886, the sub-parish of Breim (population: 1,823) was separated from Gloppen to form its own municipality.

On 1 January 1992, the Lote area of Gloppen (also on the north side of the Nordfjorden) was transferred to Eid Municipality.

The name is probably derived from the word gloppa which means "narrow opening" or "mountain gorge".

The official blazon is "Azure, a horse passant argent" (Norwegian: På blå grunn ein gåande sølv hest).

This means the arms have a blue field (background) and the charge is a fjord horse.

The horse has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Gloppen is made up of 27 representatives that are elected to four year terms.

Up on the Ålfotbreen glacier, partly in the municipality, precipitation is estimated to be around 6,000 millimetres (240 in) annually.

Tinghaug was a place of public gathering, for cultural events and religious actions.