Byglandsfjorden is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

county,

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 ...

. The lake lies on the river

Otra The Otra is the largest river in the Sørlandet region of Norway. It begins in Setesdalsheiene mountains at the lake Breidvatnet in Bykle municipality in Agder county, just south of the border with Vinje municipality in Vestfold og Telemark cou ...

, primarily in the municipality of Bygland, but the far southern tip of the lake extends into the neighboring municipality of

Evje og Hornnes Evje og Hornnes is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Setesdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Evje. Other villages in the municipality include Åneland, Dåsnes ...

. The river flows out of the lake Åraksfjorden to the north and into the Byglandsfjorden through a narrow channel, and the southern end of the Byglandsfjorden is marked by a dam along the river. The villages of Byglandsfjord,

Grendi Grendi is a village in Bygland municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located on the east side of the lake Byglandsfjorden in the south part of the municipality. Grendi sits along the Norwegian National Road 9 about north of the ...

, Longerak, Lauvdal, and Bygland are all located on the eastern shore of the lake along the

Norwegian National Road 9 Norwegian National Road 9 ( no, Riksvei 9, ) is often called the ''Setesdal Road'' ( no, Setesdalsveien) and it is the main thoroughfare through the Setesdalen valley. It runs from the city of Kristiansand in the southern coast of Norway, throu ...

. The western shore of the lake is much more sparsely populated, with County Road 304 following that shoreline. The

SS Bjoren SS ''Bjoren'' is a wood-fuelled steamboat that travels the route between Bygland-Byglandsfjord, Bygland and Bygland- Ose on the lake Byglandsfjorden in the municipality of Bygland in the Setesdal valley. She runs on Sundays in July. Using wood ...

is a wood-fueled

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

that travels on the Byglandsfjorden in the summers between the villages of Ose (on the Åraksfjorden), Bygland, and Byglandsfjord. Prior to the opening of the roads along the shoreline, steamboat travel was the main method of transportation for those travelling north through

Setesdal Setesdal (; older name: Sætersdal) is a valley and a traditional district in Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes. The Otra river flows through the ...

. There is a special

relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

species of

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 '' Onco ...

that live in Byglandsfjorden, called ''bleke''. This species of salmon only occurs right there. These are salmon which are not wandering, they spend their entire lives in freshwater.

References

{{Lakes in Norway Lakes of Agder Setesdal Bygland Evje og Hornnes

See also

References