From south to north, the main fjords are Bindalsfjord, Vefsnfjorden, Ranfjorden, Saltfjorden-Skjerstadfjorden, Folda, Tysfjorden, Ofotfjorden (the longest) and Andfjorden, which is shared with Troms county.

[6] The Saltfjellet mountain range forms a natural border between Helgeland and Salten, and is where the Arctic Circle cuts through the county.

Along the coast and on islands (including Vega) along the southern and middle part of Nordland is a warmer, temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) with winter mean temperature above 0 °C (32 °F) and a four month long summer.

Annual snow accumulation can exceed 5 metres (16 ft) in the mountains, this is the main reason for the many glaciers in Nordland.

Lurøy Municipality 115 metres (377 ft), west of Saltfjell, averages 3,066 millimetres (120.7 in) precipitation annually; the wettest location in North Norway and in the world at such high latitude.

Some of the wettest areas along the coast (a narrow band) north to Glomfjord fulfills the climatic criteria for a temperate rainforest.

The warmest night ever recorded in Norway was July 29, 2019 at Sømna-Kvaløyfjellet 302 metres (991 ft) in Sømna Municipality near Brønnøysund with overnight low 26.1 °C (79.0 °F).

Helgeland is situated south of the Arctic Circle; at the winter solstice the sun is above the horizon approximately 3 hours a day (Mosjøen daylight).

In addition to cod, coalfish, haddock, herring, wolf fish and halibut are all common along the coast and in the fjords.

Røst offers a range of habitats and serves as a stop-over point for many birds that are migrating even further north.

The municipality is home to one of the largest bird cliffs in the North Atlantic, where birdwatchers can find puffin, shag, kittiwake, and cormorant colonies.

The Eurasian eagle-owl has a stronghold along the Helgeland coast, whilst predatory birds like golden eagle, gyrfalcon, and peregrine falcon nest in some inaccessible areas.

Orcas are common along the coast and in the Vestfjord area (even in the fjords) in winter, and the world's largest predator, the sperm whale, hunts for prey in the deep waters west of Andøya.

Main export markets are Germany, Scandinavia, Britain, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France, Russia and Japan.

Tourism is important, mainly in the summer season, although there are some winter visitors looking for good skiing or wanting to see the Northern Lights, especially from February to April.

The Norwegian Lundehund was bred to hunt puffins and was only saved from extinction due to a few remaining dogs in Lofoten.

Sulitjelma has the largest copper deposits in the county, as well as pyrite, the latter is also found in several other locations, but the mining here has been discontinued for economic reasons.

The port of Narvik has a direct rail connection to the well-known and profitable Kiruna-Gällivare iron-ore fields in Sweden.

Nordland has an increasingly diverse economy, with fledgling research and development in aerospace and space exploration at the Andøya Rocket Range, which primarily is known for its satellite launches.

Even with improved communications, population numbers in Nordland have actually decreased slightly since 1990, as many young people move to larger cities in Norway.

There are local hospitals in Mosjøen, Sandnessjøen, Mo i Rana, Bodø (the largest), Gravdal, Narvik and Stokmarknes.

These Stone Age people lived near the coast, often on islands and typically along straits near the open sea, with a rich provision of marine resources.

There are at least 15 locations with prehistoric rock carvings in Nordland, from Helgeland in the south to Narvik in the north (see Fosna-Hensbacka culture).

The location is somewhat surprising, as this island has unreliable snow cover, and the Scandinavian climate was warmer in the Stone Age.

These locations have significant areas of lowland suited for agriculture, they are close to the sea and they have many natural harbours.

Known as Haugvikbåten, the well-preserved piece, kept in the Museum of Science (Vitenskapsmuseet) in Trondheim, has been dated to 800–400 BC—the Nordic Bronze Age ([3]).

The remnants of large longhouses near Borg (Vestvågøy) and in Steigen are dated to the Merovinger period (ca 600 AD).

In January 1432, an Italian trade ship going from Crete to Flanders was hit by a storm and taken far north where it was wrecked; some of the crew survived and came ashore on a small island in Røst Municipality.

The shipwrecked men did not lack food during their winter stay, usually fish, but Querini also mentions milk, meat, butter, and pancakes.

The largest ship disaster ever in Norway took place in 1944 when Rigel transporting German prisoners was bombed by British Fleet Air Arm aircraft near Sandnessjøen (Alstahaug Municipality), with more than 2,500 casualties.