The Ivalo River ( fi, Ivalojoki, sme, Avviljohka, smn, Avveeljuuhâ) is a river that flows through upper

Lapland Lapland may refer to: Places *Lapland or Sápmi, an ethno-cultural region stretching over northern Fennoscandia (parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia) **Lapland (Finland) (''Lappi''/''Lappland''), a Finnish region *** Lapland (former pr ...

into Lake Inari. The Ivalo River starts from the Korsatunturi hugging the border between the communities of

Inari Inari may refer to: Shinto * Inari Ōkami, a Shinto spirit ** Mount Inari in Japan, site of Fushimi Inari-taisha, the main Shinto shrine to Inari ** Inari Shrine, shrines to the Shinto god Inari * Inari-zushi, a type of sushi Places * Inari, ...

and

Enontekiö Enontekiö (; sme, Eanodat ; sv, Enontekis; smn, Iänudâh; sms, Jeänõk) is a municipality in the Finnish part of Lapland with approx. inhabitants. It is situated in the outermost northwest of the country and occupies a large and very spars ...

, where two side streams are meeting. The first streams branching off of it can be found on the

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s of Peltotunturi on the border between

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

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 ...

along the western border of the

Lemmenjoki National Park Lemmenjoki National Park ( fi, Lemmenjoen kansallispuisto, smn, Lemmee aalmuglâšmecci, se, Leammi álbmotmeahcci) is situated in area of municipalities of Inari and Kittilä, Lapland, in Northern Finland. It was founded in 1956 and has since ...

. The river flows into Lake Inari from a delta approximately from the village of the same name, which is located on both banks of this meandering, shallow run. The

Repo A repurchase agreement, also known as a repo, RP, or sale and repurchase agreement, is a form of short-term borrowing, mainly in government securities. The dealer sells the underlying security to investors and, by agreement between the two par ...

, Tolos, Sota and Kylä Rivers, the latter two of which are renowned for the gold found in them, are some of the Ivalo River's tributaries. For almost its entire length, the Ivalo River flows through wilderness. Near its headwaters, the river meanders as a narrow stream through the southernmost bogs of the Lemmenjoki National Park. Halfway down its length, the national park becomes the

Hammastunturi Wilderness Area The Hammastunturi Wilderness Area ( fi, Hammastunturin erämaa; literally translated "tooth fell") is located in Lapland, Finland. It was established in 1991 like all the other 11 wilderness areas of Finland. It covers situated in a fell and fore ...

, through which it flows almost all the way to

Ivalo Ivalo ( smn, Avveel, se, Avvil, sms, Âʹvvel) is a village in the municipality of Inari, Lapland, Finland, located on the Ivalo River south of Lake Inari in the Arctic Circle. It has a population of 3,998 and a small airport. south of Ival ...

River of gold

The Ivalo River has been nicknamed the "River of gold". During the

Lapland gold rush The Lapland gold rush, also known as the Ivalo Gold Rush, was a gold rush that occurred in the 1870s in Lapland, Grand Duchy of Finland, then part of Imperial Russia. The Lapland gold rush started in the valley of the Ivalojoki River in 1870 and ...

in the 1870s, the place Kultala was built on the banks of the river some 17 kilometre (11 mi) down of

Kuttura Kuttura is a small village in Finland, in the southwest corner of the municipality of Inari, Finland, Inari on the west bank of the Ivalo River next to the Hammastunturi Wilderness Area. At the end of 2005, 21 people lived in the village. Histor ...

as a base for the state agency, distributing prospecting permits and warrants, cashing gold catches, monitoring gold property orders, and preparing claim maps. The movie

Lapin kullan kimallus ''Lapin kullan kimallus'' (Finnish for ''The glitter of Lappish gold'') is a 1999 Finnish movie, directed by Åke Lindman. The movie is about the Lapland gold rush in the end of the 19th century. It stars Pirkka-Pekka Petelius as Nils Lepistö a ...

by director

Åke Lindman Åke Leonard Lindman (born Åke Leonard Järvinen; 11 January 1928 – 3 March 2009) was a Finnish director and actor. In his youth Lindman was a football player, playing defence for the Finnish national team during the Olympics in Helsinki ...

portrays the height of the gold rush. In the late 1880s, the rush faded out. Even nowadays, hundreds of gold claims, differing greatly in size, are still staked out along the banks of the river and its tributaries.

Tourism

The Ivalo River gains in popularity as a tourist attraction, it was named the ''Destination of the Year'' at the Retki 2005 fair. A stretch of rapids from Kuttura to

Tolonen Tolonen is a Finnish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jussi Tolonen (1882–1962), Finnish smallholder and politician * Armas Tolonen (1893–1954), Finnish politician * Jukka Tolonen Jukka Jorma Tolonen (born 16 April 1952) ...

has been a traditional destination for

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

rs. Lately, it has become popular with whitewater rafters, as well. Tourists can hike to areas where gold was and is still being mined by following marked trails. A pedestrian

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

spans the Ivalo River at Kultala, which is an outdoor museum about the gold rush nowadays, offering accommodation for hikers. Fishermen can try to catch

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

and graylings. With luck, they might even snag a

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

or whitefish. The river's tributaries are teeming with trout that range from long.

References

External links

* Rivers of Finland Paatsjoki basin Landforms of Lapland (Finland) Rivers of Inari, Finland {{Finland-river-stub