or is one of the longest rivers in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

county, in the central part of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The long river flows through the municipalities of

Røyrvik Røyrvik may refer to: Places *Røyrvik Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway * Røyrvik (village), a village in Røyrvik Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway * Røyrvik Church, a church in Røyrvik Municipality in Trøndel ...

Namsskogan Namsskogan may refer to: Places *Namsskogan Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway * Namsskogan (village), a village within Namsskogan Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway * Namsskogan Familiepark, a zoo and amusement park i ...

Grong Grong may refer to: Places *Grong Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *Medjå Medjå or Grong is a village which serves as the administrative center of Grong Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located along th ...

Overhalla Overhalla is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ranemsletta (also called ''Overhalla''). Other villages include Melen, Hunn, Skogmo, ...

, and

Namsos Namsos may refer to: Places *Namsos Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *Namsos (town) Namsos is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative center of Namsos Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. ...

before emptying into the

Namsenfjorden Namsenfjorden is a fjord in Trøndelag county, Norway. The long fjord flows along the border between Namsos Municipality and Flatanger Municipality. It runs southeast from the Folda firth, between the mainland in the south and the island of Ot ...

. The river is the namesake for the whole

Namdalen Namdalen () is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities of Namsos Municipality, Namsos, Grong Municipality, Grong, Overhalla Municipality, Overhalla, Røyrvik Municipality, Røyr ...

region. The river traditionally has been used for floating timber down from the forests to the town of Namsos, where the

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s were located. Today, parts of the Namsen are regulated by several dams.

Location

The river begins in

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

s in

Børgefjell National Park Børgefjell National Park (, ) is an undeveloped national park in Norway, straddling the border between Trøndelag and Nordland counties, along the border with Sweden. The park is undeveloped with few trails or other facilities for visitors. Visi ...

, just over the border in

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county. This water feeds the large lake

Namsvatnet or is a lake in Røyrvik Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The river Namsen used to be the primary outlet, but the lake has been regulated for hydroelectric generation since 1959 and part of the water is diverted south towards a pow ...

. The Namsen river itself starts when the water passes through the dam on the northwest side of the lake

Røyrvik Municipality or is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Røyrvik (village), village of ...

. The river then travels through the

valley towards the coast, ending at the town of Namsos where it flows into the

, the same

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

into which the smaller river Årgårdselva flows. There are two major tributaries to the Namsen: Tunnsjøelva and Sanddøla. The total watershed is approximately and at Namsos, the water discharges into the fjord at about .

Fishing

The Namsen is considered one of the best

Atlantic Salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...

fishing rivers in the world, and is often called the "Queen of Rivers". Beginning in the 19th century, the British found the Atlantic salmon fishing to be excellent here, and the river became a major tourist attraction. Catches above are not unusual. The Namsen is a wide river and is thus often fished from small boats using a method called "harling". This method consists of trolling a lure while the boat moves slowly from bank to bank and drifting downstream. Thus, the salmon meet the lure as they swim upstream.

References

External links

Salmon with a weight of 25 kg caught in June 2009

Upper Namsen Fishing
{{authority control Rivers of Trøndelag Namsos Overhalla Grong Namsskogan Røyrvik Rivers of Norway

Location

Fishing

See also

References

External links