The village is located on the shore of the Sørfjorden about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of the town of Odda.

The lake Ringedalsvatnet and the Trolltunga cliff are located just to the east, higher up in the valley.

Tyssedal drew migrants from different parts of Norway, who spoke different Norwegian dialects.

Tyssedal and the nearby town of Odda—which arose in the same time and socio-economic circumstances but from a more homogeneous population—provided valuable insights to linguists studying this phenomenon.

Professor Paul Kerswill conducted an intensive study of the Norwegian spoken in the two communities, relating them to very different geographical origins: The workers in Odda came predominantly (86%) from western Norway.