The Rauma 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 ...
that runs through ''
Romsdalen'', a valley in
Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is t ...
and
Innlandet
Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). ...
counties in
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 ...
. It runs for from ''
Lesjaskogsvatnet'', a lake in the municipality of
Lesja, to the town of
Åndalsnes in the municipality of
Rauma. The river was once famous for its
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, but since an infection with ''
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 ...
'' only 5 to 10% of the original stock survives. This, however, has begun to recover rapidly after a successful revitalisation project. The salmon runs up to the ''
Slettafossen'', a high combination of
waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in several ...
s and rapids more than upriver from the
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
.
The Rauma River and its valley are regarded as one of the most beautiful in Norway. The river runs very clear with a green tint and the mountains tower some above the river in the lower and middle parts of the valley. The
Reinheimen National Park and the
Trollveggen cliff are both located along the southwestern shores of the river through the municipality of Rauma. The ''
Romsdalsalpene'' mountains surround the river and the valley, including the mountains
Store Trolltind,
Store Venjetinden,
Trollryggen, and
Romsdalshornet. The
Rauma Line railroad follows the river through the valley on its way north to Åndalsnes. The railroad crosses the river on the
Kylling Bridge at the village of
Verma.
The Rauma was classified as a protected watercourse in 1992, and the only main tributary affected by
hydroelectric power is the Verma River with the over
Vermafossen
Vermafossen or Vermefossen is a waterfall in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The waterfall is on the river Verma which is a tributary to the large river Rauma which flows through the Romsdalen valley. The waterfall is ...
falls. The biggest tributaries are the
Ulvåa and
Istra. The Istra runs through the Ister Valley, well known for
Trollstigen Road in its upper parts.
The origins of the name ''Rauma'' are unknown.
Media gallery
File:63a-2770 Stuguflåtbrua 2004 SRS.jpg, Stuguflåt Bridge
File:Kylling bru 08062008.JPG, Kylling Bridge
File:Aandalsnes fra kjerringplassen.jpg, Mouth of the river at Åndalsnes
File:Rauma Romsdal.jpg, Close up picture of the river
File:Romsdalen.jpg, Mountains surrounding the river valley
References
External links
*
Rauma, Norway
Rivers of Innlandet
Rivers of Møre og Romsdal
{{Norway-river-stub