Nitelva

Nitelva is a river that rises at

Grua Grua is a village in the municipality of Lunner municipality, Viken, Norway. Its population (2005) is 1,477. Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode ...

and flows to Harestuvatnet in the southern part of

Lunner Lunner is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hadeland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Roa. Lunner was established when it was separated from the municipality of Jevnake ...

municipality in Oppland. The river then flows southwards and ends at Øyeren. The river has at this point run for around and has dropped around . The river is part of the Oslomarkavassdragene. The northern part of Nitelva runs between

Hakadal Hakadal is a village in the northern part of Nittedal municipality in Akershus, Norway. The village and parish is the site of Hakadal Church (''Hakadal Kirke''). Hakadal Church dates to around 1610 and was originally constructed in a rectangu ...

and is called Hakadalselva. The journey to Øyeren begins with rapids, before slowing to a broad

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 bank ...

ing river through Nittedal. The last kilometres of the river run through

Skedsmo Skedsmo was a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality was the town of Lillestrøm. About one third of the municipal population lived in Lillestrøm. ...

and

Rælingen Rælingen is a village and municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fjerdingby. Rælingen was separated from the municipa ...

municipalities, first as a scenic part of

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...

city and Øvre Rælingen with roads on both banks, passing through an industrialised area before ending at the delta in the north of Øyeren in Rælingen. Nitelva and its banks make up a varied and fertile belt through forests, agricultural landscapes and buildings. The river was originally named ''Nitja''. The meaning of the name is unknown, but it may come from the word ''net'', in the sense of fishing net. It may also come from the verb ''hnita'', which means "to clash" (meaning waves that clash together). The river is an important part of the local environment, and the watercourse has been used for timber mills, power, and factories. Many places along the Nitelva have remains of these activities, and their influence is still seen in place names. The river is well known for sports fishing. Up until Rotnesfossen can be found many of Norway's

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...

, and 21 species are recorded. Among these are

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

, zander,

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

and

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

. To the north of the watercourse can also be found

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'' morph ...

. Along the river, one can also find a rich and varied animal, bird and plant life, and it has an important ecological function as a habitat and dispersal corridor for several species. Here you can experience both the dense

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

forests, lush deciduous forests,

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es, flower beds,

juncus ''Juncus'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants, commonly known as rushes. It is the largest genus in the family Juncaceae, containing around 300 species. Description Rushes of the genus ''Juncus'' are herbaceous plants that superfici ...

and water plants. The animal and bird species along the river include

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...

and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

. Because of its biological diversity, Nitelva is a protected waterway, and in the lower part of the river, there are two nature reserves; Sørumsneset and Nordre Øyeren nature reserve. Rivers of Viken Lunner Nittedal Skedsmo Rivers of Norway {{Norway-river-stub