Alta (town)

(Norwegian; ),, or is a town in Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality and the major commercial centre in the western part of the county. The town is located on the southern end of Altafjorden at the mouth of the river Altaelva. There are several suburbs around the town: Kåfjord, Kvenvik, and Jiepmaluokta lie to the west; Øvre Alta and Tverrelvdalen lie to the south; and Rafsbotn lies to the east. The famous rock carvings at Alta lie just to the west of the town.

Alta is considered the northernmost city in the world with a population surpassing 10,000. The 9.81 km2 town has a population (2023) of 15,931 and a population density of 1624 PD/km2.

The town of Alta has three churches: the historic Alta Church in Bossekop, the relatively new Elvebakken Church in Elvebakken, and the Northern Lights Cathedral (the new "main" church for the municipality that was completed in 2013). Alta is also an educational centre in Finnmark county. The Alta campus of the University of Tromsø is located in the town as well as the local primary and secondary schools, including Alta Upper Secondary School. The Vestre Finnmark District Court has one of its two courthouses in the town, serving Loppa Municipality and Alta Municipality. Alta IF is the main sports team for the town.

History
The town of Alta was established in 2000 when the three neighboring villages of Bossekop, Elvebakken, and Alta were joined together and declared to be a town by the municipal council.

Name
The town (originally the village) is named after the local Altafjorden. The name possibly comes from the Old Norse words or  which refer to a swan. It could also be the Norwegianization of the Finnish word (alaattia) which refers to a "lowland". Historically, the name of the municipality (and the village) was spelled Alten. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Alta.

Transportation
Alta is a centre of transportation in Finnmark county. The town has port facilities along Altafjorden, just alongside Alta Airport in Elvebakken. The airport has direct flights to Oslo and certain other big cities in Norway like Tromsø. The European route E6 highway also runs through the town and the European route E45 has its northern terminus in the town. The main industries present in Alta include a concrete product factory; several wood mills and sawmills; and dairy, horticulture trade, and maritime services.