The Gaula is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

located in the

Sunnfjord Sunnfjord ( en, the southern fjord - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland counties of Norway, county. It includes the List of municipalities of Norway, municipalities of As ...

region of

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the cit ...

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 long river is the central part of the ''Gaularvassdraget'' watershed basin which covers about across the municipalities of

and

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other vill ...

. The river is a good

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 ...

fishing river. The river runs across the whole municipality of Gaular, and the river is the namesake of the municipality.

Course

The river begins as glacial runoff in the

Gaularfjellet Gaularfjellet is a mountain area in central Vestland county, Norway. The mountains is crossed by the border between the municipalities of Sunnfjord and Sogndal. Norwegian County Road 613 (formerly Norwegian County Road 13, Norwegian National R ...

mountains and it runs through the municipalities of

and

. The

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

s that feed the river are

Grovabreen The Grovabreen glacier is located in Vestland county, Norway. It covers an area of about in Sunnfjord Municipality in the Sunnfjord region. The highest point on the glacier sits at an elevation of above sea level. The glacier is part of Joste ...

Jostefonn The Jostefonn glacier is located in Vestland county, Norway. It covers an area of around in the municipalities of Sunnfjord and Sogndal. Jostefonn was formerly a part of the large Jostedalsbreen glacier, but it is no longer connected to the main ...

, and Troget, all three are located just west of the massive

Jostedalsbreen Jostedal Glacier or is the largest glacier in continental Europe. It is in Vestland county in Western Norway. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster, Sogndal, Sunnfjord, and Stryn. The highest peak in the area is Lodalskåpa at a ...

glacier. The river starts up in the mountains and empties into a fjord at sea level, and so the water drops over in elevation throughout its course. This is one reason why the area is often referred to as ''Fosselandet'' (lit. "the land of waterfalls"). There are many waterfalls on the Gaular and its tributaries. The river Gaula begins as two main branches. The northern branch begins in the mountains east of the village of

Haukedalen Haukedalen is a village in Sunnfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located in the Haukedalen valley at the northwestern end of the lake Haukedalsvatnet. The village lies in a fairly remote valley surrounded by the Gaular ...

in Førde Municipality. That branch flows to the southwest eventually into the lake Viksdalsvatnet. The southern branch begins at the lake Norddalsvatnet on the border of the municipalities of Sunnfjord and

. It flows along the border, then south into Sogndal to the lake Nystølsvatnet. The river then turns west, back into Sunnfjord municipality and it heads west until it empties into the lake Viksdalsvatnet. This lake is where the two branches join together. It then finishes its course by flowing westward, passing through the municipal center of Sande, before emptying into the Dalsfjorden at Osen near the village of

Bygstad Bygstad is a village in Sunnfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern shore of the Dalsfjorden, about northwest of the innermost part of the fjord. The municipal center, Sande, is about to the sout ...

. The

European route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other single road in Eur ...

highway crosses the river just east of the village of Sande.

Media gallery

File:Fossfossen.JPG, Fossfossen waterfall File:Likholefossen.JPG, Likholefossen waterfall File:Small bridge over Råeimsdalselva.JPG, Small bridge over the northern branch of the river File:Vallestadfossen-Norway.jpg, Vallestadfossen waterfall

References

Rivers of Vestland Sunnfjord Sogndal Rivers of Norway {{Norway-river-stub

Course

Media gallery

See also

References