Hallingdalselva ( en, Hallingdal River) is a river which flows through the
valley and
traditional district of
Hallingdal in
Buskerud County,
Norway. Within the valley, the river is often referred to as the Great River (''Storåne'').
Hallingdal River rises from within the
Hardangervidda mountain plateau. Hallingdal River is formed by the confluence of the
Usta River which flows from Lake
Ustevatn and the
Holselva River from Lake
Strandavatnet. Hallingdal River flows from the north into Lake
Krøderen (''Krøderfjorden'') at
Gulsvik. Lake Krøderen discharges via the
Snarumselva (Snamum river) at the south end of the lake.
A number of rivers flow into the Hallingdal River including the
Votna, Lya,
Hemsil,
Todøla and
Rukkedøla. Hallingdal River has a total length of and a catchment area of . The river falls in its journey to Krøderen, which is above sea-level. There are many hydro-electric power stations in the valley with an annual power production of about 4 TWh. The whole river system is now almost fully developed with a total of 13 power plants. The largest plants are Hol I-III (275 MW), Nes (250 MW), Usta (184 MW) and Hemsil I-II (152 MW). The total average annual production is approximately 4143 GWh. Most of the waterfall rights are owned by
E-CO Energi.
References
External links
Fishing in the Hallingdal River
Rivers of Viken
Rivers of Norway
{{Norway-river-stub