Kvina is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Southern Norway Southern Norway ( no, Sørlandet; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function. It roughl ...

. The long river begins in the

Setesdalsheiene Setesdalsheiene () is the collective term for the mountains to the west and east of the Setesdalen valley in Agder county in Southern Norway. The river Otra flows through the valley between the mountains. This area is primarily located in the mu ...

mountains in the municipality of

Valle Valle may refer to: * Valle (surname) Geography *"Valle", the cultural and climatic zone of the dry subtropical Interandean Valles of the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and northwest Argentina *University of Valle, a public university in Cali, Colombia ...

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

county and it flows south, along the former

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, en, "East Agder") was a county (''fylke'') in Norway until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . The ...

and

Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. I ...

county border, through the Kvinesdalen valley, and emptying into the

Fedafjorden Fedafjorden is a fjord in Agder county, Norway. The is located in the municipalities of Kvinesdal, Flekkefjord, and Farsund. The long, narrow fjord runs south from the mouth of the river Kvina to the Listafjorden. The fjord is long and only ...

, just south of

Liknes Liknes is the administrative centre of Kvinesdal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located along the river Kvina, about north of the mouth where it empties into the Fedafjorden. The village of Storekvina lies about to the nor ...

Kvinesdal Kvinesdal is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Liknes. Other villages in Kvinesdal include Feda, Fjotland, and Storekvi ...

municipality. The river has a watershed. The river is rich in fish. In 2014, about of salmon was caught in the river Kvina. The river runs through the villages of Netland,

Storekvina Storekvina is a village in Kvinesdal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the shore of the river Kvina, about north of the village of Liknes. The village had a population of 323 in 2015. The Sørlandet Line The Sør ...

, and

Power generation

The river passes through a number of lakes that are regulated for hydropower including the Roskreppfjorden, Øyarvatn,

Kvifjorden Kvifjorden is a lake in Agder county, Norway. THe lake straddles the borders of the municipalities of Bygland, Kvinesdal, and Sirdal. The lake was created when a dam was built along the Kvina river. The lake is located about northeast of the vi ...

, and

Homstølvatnet Homstølvatnet or Eptevatn is a lake in the far western part of the municipality of Froland in Agder county, Norway. It is located about east of the village of Byglandsfjord (in Bygland municipality) and about northwest of the village of Mykl ...

. The hydropower is utilized in several power stations along the river. The largest is the

Tonstad Hydroelectric Power Station Tonstad Power Station (''Tonstad kraftverk'') is a hydroelectric power station located in the municipality of Sirdal in Agder county, Norway. The station is in Tonstad, at the northern end of the lake Sirdalsvatnet. It has a total installed capac ...

Sirdal Sirdal is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the northwestern part of the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tonstad. Other villages in Sirdal include Bjørnesta ...

. Water from the river is piped through a long pipe to the plant. About half of the water is transferred out of the Kvina to the Tonstad plant. The river had an average water flow of before the regulation of the water, and since then the river has an average flow of .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kvina Rivers of Agder Kvinesdal Valle, Norway Rivers of Norway