The 125-square-kilometre (48 sq mi) area now sits in the northwestern part of the Ørsta municipality, along the Vartdalsfjorden.

The name of the river comes from the word verpa, or its past tense form varp, which means "to cast" or "to throw" a fishing net.

The suffix -stranden is the definite singular form of the Old Norse word strǫnd which means "beach" or "shore".

On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Vartdal.

[7] The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Vartdal was made up of 17 representatives that were elected to four year terms.