Nidelva (Aust-Agder)

Nidelva is the main river in the Arendal drainage basin in Agder county, Norway. The long river begins at the confluence of two rivers: Nisserelva and Fyreselv. The confluence is located by the village of Haugsjåsund in Nissedal municipality in southern Vestfold og Telemark county. The river flows south into the Skagerrak at the city of Arendal. The watershed covers and has an average waterflow of at Rykene near the mouth. The highest waterflow ever recorded on the river was in the autumn of 1987.

Watercourse

The river flows through Nissedal in Vestfold og Telemark county briefly before entering Agder county. It then flows through Åmli municipality. The river Gjøv joins the Nidelva there. The large lake Nelaug is a man-made lake along the river that is used for power generation. It continues through Froland municipality and then Arendal municipality. For a while, the river forms the border between Grimstad and Arendal municipalities. The river empties into the Skaggerak just northeast of Rykene in the town of Arendal between the mainland and the island of Hisøya.

There are sixteen hydro-electric power stations are built along the river, making this one of Norway's most controlled drainage systems. The largest on the river are at Rygene in Grimstad, Evenstad in Froland, and Jørundland in Åmli. Salmon can be found from the mouth to as far as up the river, where the Evenstad power station is located, effectively blocking their path further upstream.

Name

The name of the river possibly comes from the Old Norse word ''niðr'' which means "the river that is lying down". It may also come from the Latin word ''nitere''. The name of the river also may lend itself to several other local names along the river such as Nisser, Nedenes, and Nelaug.

Media gallery

View of the River Nid (JW Edy plate 20).jpg, ''View of the River Nid'' by John William Edy
Froland-Froland kirke-a.JPG, Froland Church located along the river Nidelva
Arendal-Nidelva-a.JPG, View of the river in Arendal
Aamli IMG 1921 nidelva rv41 gjermundsnes southwards.JPG, View of the river near Gjermundsnes in Åmli
Aamli IMG 1947 kraftverk aamfossen.JPG, Åmfossen power station along the river in Åmli
Fv161 fra Furre bru til 42 Ovelandsdalen i Froland IMG 5663.jpg, Furre bridge over the river in Froland

References

External links

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Evenstad power station
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Rivers of Agder
Rivers of Vestfold og Telemark
Grimstad
Arendal
Froland
Åmli
Nissedal