The Skellefte River ( sv, Skellefteälven or ; sje, Seldutiedno; sju, Syöldateiednuo) is a river in northern
Sweden; one of the major
Norrland
Norrland (, "Northland", originally ''Norrlanden'' or "the Northlands") is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administ ...
rivers.
Geographically, it starts in the
Norrbotten County, also known as the
Swedish Lappland province where it drains the lakes
Hornavan
Hornavan is a lake in northern Sweden. Located in Arjeplog Municipality in the province of Swedish Lapland, administratively known as Norrbotten County, it is the deepest lake in Sweden at . Being a high mountain lake downstream from the source of ...
,
Uddjaur and
Storavan near
Arjeplog
Arjeplog (; Pite Sami: ) is a locality and the seat of Arjeplog Municipality in Norrbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 1,977 inhabitants in 2010.
It is a popular winter test site for the Asian and European car industries and feature ...
; then goes south-east into
Västerbotten County
Västerbotten County ( sv, Västerbottens län) is a county or ''län'' in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the Gulf of Bo ...
, passing through the town
Skellefteå
Skellefteå (, locally ) is a city in Västerbotten County, Sweden. It is the seat of Skellefteå Municipality, which had 73,246 inhabitants in 2021.
The city is historically industrial, with mining being a large part of that industry, especial ...
(which has given it its name), and finally discharging in the
Gulf of Bothnia, in the
Västerbotten
Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the p ...
province.
It is one of the major northern Swedish rivers, with a length of 410 kilometers. Like many large northern rivers, it has been cultivated for
water power
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a ...
.
There are several
tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...
to the river, with the largest ones named: Malån, Petikån, Finnforsån, Bjurån and Klintforsån.
Salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...
s and
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-salm ...
s are being put out to compensate for the water power plants, and the river and its tributary are all popular destinations for fishers. Especially popular is the town Skellefteå, known as "Fishing in City".
See also
Some of the other large Norrland rivers:
*
Kalix River
*
Torne River
The Torne, also known as the Tornio ( fi, Tornionjoki, sv, Torne älv, , se, Duortneseatnu, fit, Tornionväylä), is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. For approximately half of its length, it defines the border between these two countr ...
*
Lule River
Lule River ( smj, Julevädno, sv, Lule älv, ''Luleälven'') is a major river in Sweden, rising in northern Sweden and flowing southeast for before reaching the Gulf of Bothnia at Luleå. It is the second longest river by watershed area or length ...
*
Pite River
The Pite River (''Bidumedno'' in Pite Sami. ''Piteälven'', ''Pite älv'' or ''Piteå älv'' in Swedish.) is a river in northern Sweden, flowing through the Norrbotten County. It is one of the four major rivers in Norrland that have been left mo ...
*
Ume River
The Ume River (Swedish: ''Ume älv'' or ''Umeälven'') is one of the main rivers in northern Sweden. It is around long, and flows in a south-eastern direction from its source, the lake ''Överuman'' by the Norwegian border within the Scandinavian ...
*
Ångerman River __NOTOC__
The Ångerman or Angerman ( sv, Ångermanälven) is one of Sweden's longest rivers with a total length of . It also has the third largest flow rate, after the Göta and Lule.
Name
The name was formerly written Ångermann or Angermann. ...
References
{{Authority control
*
Rivers of Norrbotten County
Rivers of Västerbotten County