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Klarälven ("The clear river" in Swedish) 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 ...
flowing through
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...
and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
. Together with Göta älv, which it is called as the river has passed through the lake
Vänern Vänern ( , also , ) is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the European Union and the third-largest lake of all Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmlan ...
, thus regarded as an entity, Göta älv—Klarälven is the longest river in
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...
and in the Nordic countries and its Swedish part the longest river of Sweden. These two rivers also have the largest
drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
in the same areas, including all the rivers that run into Vänern, of which is located in Sweden and in Norway. It emanates at the northeast side of Mount Brändstöten and flows through a couple of smaller lakes down to Lake Rogen in Härjedalen, Sweden, and then passes through the Norwegian Hedmark, where it flows through the lake Femunden. There it is known as Femundelva and Trysilelva. The rest of the river, the longest part, flows through Värmland to ultimately discharge in a delta into
Vänern Vänern ( , also , ) is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the European Union and the third-largest lake of all Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmlan ...
at
Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 65,856 inhabitants in 2020 with 95,167 inhabita ...
. In its turn, Vänern drains then into Göta älv, reaching the sea at
Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
. The river has historically provided significant economic benefits, providing a suitable transport route for log driving, and currently is internationally recognized as excellent
sport fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishin ...
waters.


Geography and geology

The
watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
of Klarälven is commonly referred to as Klarälvdalen (''the Klarälv basin''), where it accumulates much of its water on its journey to
Vänern Vänern ( , also , ) is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the European Union and the third-largest lake of all Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmlan ...
. Other important sources of water are the
snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughou ...
y mountains in the northern areas of the watershed area, providing substantial flows in the spring when the snow melts; annual floods are common. The straight river course north of Edebäck has been classified by
Sten De Geer Sten De Geer was a Swedish professor of geography and ethnography. As son of geologist Gerard De Geer Sten was born into the Swedish nobility holding the title of baron. 1886 births 1933 deaths Swedish geographers Swedish ethnographer ...
as a "tectonic valley" as it follows the Protogine Zone—a
bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of be ...
weakness zone of
Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of th ...
age. During
deglaciation Deglaciation is the transition from full glacial conditions during ice ages, to warm interglacials, characterized by global warming and sea level rise due to change in continental ice volume. Thus, it refers to the retreat of a glacier, an ice shee ...
of Scandinavia about 10,000 years before present the glacier ice retreated unevenly with the valley of Klarälven hosting a protruding ice tongue while the surrounding uplands were ice-free. The retreat of the ice left dead-ice buried in the
glacifluvial In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluviogla ...
sediments of the valley. The river course north of Edebäck formed an ancient
fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...
after it became free of glacier ice and before the post-glacial rebound definitely raised the valley bottom above the sea. The river course south of Edebäck is possibly a Quaternary deflection caused by the accumulation of glacial deposits. Since the end of the last ice age, the mouth of Klarälven has moved southward from Forshaga to its current position at
Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 65,856 inhabitants in 2020 with 95,167 inhabita ...
, and is still moving, albeit for different reasons, as the river carries substantial quantities of sand, cut from the outer edges of its
meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ban ...
ing curves, causing the shoreline of Vänern to constantly move southward. The heavy meandering of Klarälven results in numerous
oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...
s, formed as a result of a too sharp curve, eventually causing the river to create a new, shorter path. An artificial islet, ''Gubbholmen'' found in central Karlstad has also been created as a result of the accumulation of of sand transported each day during the spring flood. Entering the Karlstad region, the
river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rare ...
splits into two main parts and eight smaller parts. The east part splits into two further main branches after passing Gubbholmen (eventually three branches). The west part splits into five branches. In the first half of the 20th century the geography and
Quaternary geology Quaternary geology is the branch of geology that study developments from 2.6 million years ago onwards. In particular, Quaternary geology study the process and deposits that developed during the Quaternary, a period characterized by glacial-intergl ...
Klarälven was studied by various Swedish researchers including Alfred Elis Törnebohm,
Sten De Geer Sten De Geer was a Swedish professor of geography and ethnography. As son of geologist Gerard De Geer Sten was born into the Swedish nobility holding the title of baron. 1886 births 1933 deaths Swedish geographers Swedish ethnographer ...
and Lennart von Post. This last Quaternary geologist died in 1951 leaving his research unfinished, despite this Klarälven was by 1956 the most studied river in Sweden. Åke Sundborg's 1956 outstanding
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...
thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...
and publication on the
geomorphology Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or ...
and
hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...
of Klarälven is considered a major reference work for river studies in Sweden.


Economic importance

There are some hydroelectric power plants in the river. These are the hydroelectric power plants from south to north. # Forshaga power plant in Forshaga, # Dejefors power plant in Deje, 20 MW # Munkfors power plant in Munkfors, 33 MW, # Skymnäsforsen power plant in Skymnäsfors, 17 MW, # Forshult power plant in Forshult, 20 MW, # Krakerud power plant in Krakerud, 22 MW, # Skogaforsen power plant in Skogafors 15 MW, # Edsforsen power plant in Edsfors 9 MW # Höljes power plant in Höljes, 130 MW.


Fishing

In recent years, the sport fishing of Klarälven has gained an international recognition for its
Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...
and
brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morp ...
fisheries; these two species of fish are sought after by fly fishers. Competition for use of areas rich in the popular species is vigorous, and at high season the price of fishing licenses may be as high as 500
Swedish krona The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the official currency of the Kingdom of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it ...
( US$68) per day. Other measures are taken to ensure the survival of the fishery, including strict rules on the minimum sizes and quantities of fish allowed to be taken, as well as the requirement that unwanted fish, such as the
northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish water, brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are kno ...
, be killed when caught. Although the river was a busy log driving route, it has been reported that the fish populations of Klarälven has not suffered from the heavy activity, underwater life benefited from it, especially the grayling population. When the log driving stopped in 1991, it was later reported that the beneficial effects were slowly disappearing as shore vegetation grew denser, providing a less favourable environment for the fish.Lundén, Bo. Flottningen på Klarälven (1986) As of 1997, an
upper secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper second ...
specializing in sport fishing education was established to meet the demands for skilled professionals to guide fishing tourism.


Other tourism

Klarälven has clean and fresh water, suitable for bathing, although caution must be taken if bathing at a point before the river reaches its delta, as the currents can be treacherous. Modern day tourist attractions in addition to sport fishing include
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 ter ...
ing, as well as rafting from Branäs to Edebäck.


Log driving

Log driving has been traced back to the 17th century, although log driving increased to a significant level at the beginning of the 20th century, when the paper industry started to expand. Log driving was accomplished by dumping the harvested logs into the river, there they floated until the separation point at Forshaga. They were then held up by a floating structure resembling a fence until loggers could move out on the logs, identify them and guide them to their designated areas using special hooks. After grouping logs with the same company marks together, the logs would then be towed to their destinations. As many as 1,500 people were working seasonally, employed by the local log drivers' society, paid by the paper mills and forest owners. Although a risky job, the personnel were skilled and only one drowning incident was reported in the last 30 years of operation. Out of the 19 ''Lusten'' boats used to tow the logs to their final destinations, only one remains in working condition today; ''Lusten 8'', serving as a tourist attraction.Forshaga kanal
After the shutdown of the log driving industry in 1991, the remaining equipment was auctioned off, most was sold to the Forshaga Municipality, who used the equipment to found the log driving museum, using the old buildings used for the operations as its main building. Upon the shutdown of the flood driving in Klarälven, the practice of log driving in Sweden had officially come to its end.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klaralven Rivers of Värmland County Värmland International rivers of Europe