Østerdalen () is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

and traditional district in

Innlandet Innlandet is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (Jevnaker Municipality and Lunner Municipality were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken ( ...

county, in

Eastern Norway Eastern Norway (, ) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Oslo, Akershus, Vestfold, Østfold, Buskerud, Telemark, and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region of Norw ...

. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. Østerdalen is often subdivided into Nord-Østerdal in the north, and Sør-Østerdal in the south. The more mountainous northern half of Østerdalen includes the municipalities of

Rendalen Rendalen is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of ...

, Alvdal, Folldal, Tynset, Tolga, and Os. The more forested southern half includes the municipalities of

Elverum Elverum () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Elverum ( ...

(which includes district's largest town,

Stor-Elvdal Stor-Elvdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Koppang. Other villages in the municipality include Atna, Ev ...

Engerdal Engerdal may refer to: Places *Engerdal Municipality, a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway * Engerdal (village), a village within Engerdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway * Engerdal Church, a church in Engerdal Municipality in Innlan ...

Trysil Trysil is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Inn ...

and Åmot. Østerdalen historically also included

Särna Särna is a locality situated in Älvdalen Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 719 inhabitants in 2010. History The two parishes ''Särna'' and ''Idre'' were originally part of Norway but were occupied by an expedition of Swedish peasants ...

and

Idre Idre is a locality and ski resort situated in Älvdalen Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 794 inhabitants in 2010. It was also a historical parish and former municipality. History The two parishes ''Särna'' and ''Idre'' were originall ...

, which is now in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Geography

Østerdalen is quite wide in most places. Østerdalen is characterized by tranquil landscapes and rounded mountains. The lower valley is mostly covered by pine forests and more rolling hills. Typical of Østerdalen is that large parts of the forest floor are covered with

reindeer moss ''Cladonia rangiferina'', also known as reindeer cup lichen, reindeer lichen (cf. Swedish language, Sw. ''renlav'') or grey reindeer lichen, is a light-coloured fruticose lichen, fruticose, Cladonia, cup lichen species in the family Cladoniaceae. ...

, a variety of

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

. Further up in the valley has higher mountains and less forests and more farming areas.

Glomma valley

The main valley that runs through Østerdalen is the Glommadal (or ''Glåmdalen''). The valley is formed by the river Glåma (also called the Glomma), which is the longest and largest river in Norway. From the lake Aursunden in the north and south to

, the valley is called the Østerdalen. From that point south until

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

, it is referred to as Solør. As it turns westerly from Kongsvinger until Nes, it is called the

Odalen Odal or Odalen is a valley and traditional district in Innlandet county, Norway. The district encompasses the area around the lake Storsjøen in the north and to the areas around the river Glåma in the south. The district is currently divided ...

valley. These designations are also traditional districts, reflecting the designations locals used for their valleys. The upper river valleys of Norwegian rivers have distinctive names which are vestiges of earlier cultural distinctions such as building styles, traditional clothing or bunad and domestic crafts.

Etymology

The

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

form of the name was or which directly translates to "the eastern valleys". The name was referring to the valleys of the rivers

Glomma The Glomma or Glåma is Norway's longest and most voluminous river. With a total length of , it has a drainage basin that covers 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the river r ...

, Rena, Trysilelva, and Österdalälven (the parishes

and

belonged to Norway until 1644). The modern form ends in ''-dalen'' which is the finite

singular Singular may refer to: * Singular, the grammatical number that denotes a unit quantity, as opposed to the plural and other forms * Singular or sounder, a group of boar, see List of animal names * Singular (band), a Thai jazz pop duo *'' Singula ...

of the word ''dal'' which means "dale" or "valley".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osterdalen Districts of Innlandet Valleys of Innlandet