Some of the notable villages in the municipality included Kjøra, Geitastrand, Gjølme, Thamshavn, Fannrem, Vormstad, Svorkmo, and Hoston.

The Thamshavnbanen was used to transport ore from Løkken Verk to the port of Thamshavn, and it is now a vintage railway.

The largest companies are Technip Offshore Norge AS, Reinertsen, Washington Mills, and Elkem Thamshavn AS.

[8] The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the Orkdalen valley (Old Norse: Orkardalr) since the first Orkdal Church was built there.

On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Orkedal, removing the definite form ending -en.

The official blazon is "Vert, a pallet wavy argent" (Norwegian: I grønt en smal sølv stolpe dannet ved bølgesnitt).

The wavy line 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 design was chosen to symbolize the river Orklaelva which runs through fertile Orkdalen valley throughout the municipality.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Orkdal is made up of 35 representatives that are elected to four-year terms.