, also known as or , is the largest river in

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a 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 Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is long and drains a

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 . Its headwaters lie in the mountains of

Børgefjell National Park Børgefjell National Park ( no, Børgefjell nasjonalpark, sma, Byrkije vaarjelimmiedajve) is an undeveloped national park in Norway, straddling the border between Trøndelag and Nordland counties, along the border with Sweden. The park is undeve ...

at the lake

Simskardvatnet or is a lake in the municipality of Hattfjelldal in Nordland county, Norway. It is the headwaters of the river Vefsna. The lake lies within Børgefjell National Park, just east of the municipal border with Grane. See also * List of lakes in ...

. The river runs through the municipalities of

Hattfjelldal Hattfjelldal ( sma, Aarborte) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hattfjelldal. Other villages include Grubben, Svenskvo ...

, Grane, and

Vefsn Vefsn ( sma, Vaapste) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mosjøen (population: 9,843). Some of the notable villages in Vefsn i ...

. The southern parts of the river are sometimes called the river ''Susna''. The river flows north, not far from the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

border, and some of the minor tributaries come from

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 country located on ...

. At the town of

Mosjøen Mosjøen (; sma, Mussere) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Vefsn Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Mosjøen is the oldest town in the Helgeland region, with only the Bodø (town), town of Bodø being older within Nordland c ...

, the river discharges into the

Vefsnfjord The Vefsnfjord or Vefsnfjorden is a fjord in the Helgeland traditional district of Nordland county, Norway. It is about long, reaching a maximum depth of about below sea level. The fjord flows through the municipalities of Alstahaug, Leirfjor ...

. The Laksforsen waterfall lies along its course.Photo of the falls at flood
/ref> Historically, it was an important

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

fishery, but it has now been infected with the salmon parasite

Gyrodactylus salaris ''Gyrodactylus salaris'', commonly known as salmon fluke, is a tiny monogenean ectoparasite which lives on the body surface of freshwater fish. This leech-like parasite has been implicated in the reduction of Atlantic salmon populations in the No ...

Media gallery

Nordlandsbåtar.JPG, Nordlandsbåter on the Vefsna Fiordo Mosjøen (2).JPG Laksforsen.jpg Mosjoeen Olderskog.jpg Mosjoeen Sjoegata fra Oyfjellsida.jpg Mosjoen-2012-08-17-14-30 35.png Nedre Vapstsjon.jpg Vefsn IMG 4761 mosjöen.JPG Vapstalven nedstroms Virisen.jpg

References

Rivers of Nordland Hattfjelldal Vefsn Grane, Nordland Rivers of Norway {{Norway-river-stub