Gauldal or Gauldalen ( en, Gaula River valley) is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

and traditional district in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The river Gaula runs through the long valley from the

Røros Røros ( sma, Plaassja, ) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros. Some of the villages in Røros include Brekken, Glåmos, Feragen, Galåa, and Hitterdalen. The minin ...

mountains near the lake

Aursunden Aursunden or Aursund is a lake in the municipality of Røros in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village of Brekken lies along the eastern shore and the village of Glåmos lies along the western shore. There are several inflows to the lake includ ...

to the

Trondheimsfjorden The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from the municipality of Ørland ...

. The narrow valley runs northwards from Røros to the

Haltdalen Haltdalen is a village in Holtålen municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located along the river Gaula, about northwest of the village of Renbygda and about southwest of the village of Aunegrenda. The village of Haltdale ...

area, where it widens some, turns and heads generally to the west to the village of

Støren is the administrative centre of Midtre Gauldal municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located in the Gauldalen valley at the confluence of the rivers Gaula and ''Sokna''. Støren is located on the European route E06 highway ...

. At Støren it turns again and heads north through what is now a wide, agricultural valley until it reaches the sea just south of the city of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. The Rørosbanen and

Dovrebanen The Dovre Line ( no, Dovrebanen) is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim. Definition *Dovre Line is the current name of the 548 km main line of the Norwegian railway s ...

railway lines follow the Gauldalen valley on their way to Trondheim. The

European route E6 European route E6 ( no, Europavei 6, sv, Europaväg 6, or simply E6) is the main north-south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and t ...

highway and the

Norwegian County Road 30 Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

also follow the valley. The traditional district of Gauldal includes the municipalities of

Holtålen Holtålen is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is located in the Ålen area of the village of Renbygda. Other villages in the municipality include Hess ...

Midtre Gauldal Midtre Gauldal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Støren. Other villages in the municipality include Singsås, Soknedal, Enodden, an ...

, and

Melhus Melhus is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Melhus. Other villages include Gåsbakken, Hovin, Korsvegen, Kvål, Ler, Lundamo, St ...

. The municipality of

is often (traditionally) counted as a part of the district, even though it lies outside the actual Gaula river valley.

History

In September 1345, there was a landslide just north of the village of

. The landslide was at a very narrow point in the valley and possibly of gravel and dirt from the mountainside fell and blocked the valley and Gaula river below creating a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

on the river that was possibly high. This tremendous landslide then created a quickly rising lake that began to flood the valley up to upstream from the dam. This newly formed lake flooded and destroyed 25 upstream farms in the narrow valley. The vast amount of water building up behind the earthen dam from the landslide did not hold long and, when it burst, the water rushed though the dam and caused a major flood downstream, killing about 500 people and destroying another 25 farms as well as several churches. The downstream flash flood continued to just past the village of

, not far from the mouth of the river Gaula. This was one of the worst natural disasters ever in Norway.

Media gallery

Gauldalen Valley, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway.jpg, Gauldalen valley Gauldalen Valley, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway (6171262017).jpg, Gauldalen valley Gauldalen Valley, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway (6331095613).jpg, Gauldalen valley Gauldalen Valley, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway (6262695961).jpg, Historic farm in the valley Gaula, viewed from Haga bru (002).jpg, Gaula river Gaula, viewed from Haga bru (001).jpg, Gaula river Støren sentrum (01).JPG, Støren village Støren kirke.jpg, Støren Church Melhus sentrum.JPG, Melhus village

References

{{authority control Districts of Trøndelag Holtålen Midtre Gauldal Melhus Røros Valleys of Trøndelag