Numedalslågen is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end 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 ...

. It is considered to be the second longest river in

Southern Norway Southern Norway (; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical List of regions of Norway, region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function ...

. It is located in the

Numedal Numedal () is a valley and a traditional district in Eastern Norway located within the county of Buskerud. It traditionally includes the municipalities Flesberg, Nore og Uvdal and Rollag. Administratively, it now also includes Kongsberg. ...

valley which runs through the counties of

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

and

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

. At long, it is of the longest rivers in Norway.

Location

Numedalslågen begins on the

Hardangervidda Hardangervidda () is a mountain plateau ( Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Telemark, and Buskerud counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate, and o ...

plateau and it collects in the lake Nordmannslågen which flows into the lake Bjornefjorden before it flows into the main channel of the river. From the Bjornesfjorden, the main river stretches for over through the counties of

and

and then meeting the ocean at the Larviksfjorden at the town of Larvik. Numedalslågen is one of Norway's longest rivers, beginning in Eidfjord and then running through the municipalities Nore og Uvdal, Hol,

Rollag Rollag is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Buskerud Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rollag, al ...

, Flesberg,

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production and fo ...

, and

Larvik Larvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Larvik (town) ...

. These municipalities cooperate in the administration and use of resources connected to the river in various projects under the Green Valley (''Grønn Dal'') umbrella. There are a number of hydroelectric plants in the higher range of Numedalslågen. Most of the power potential of the main river is developed, except the stretch between Hvittingfoss and Larvik and Godfarfossen in Dagali. ''Nore I kraftverk'', the first power plant built in the Nore og Uvdal municipality in Buskerud county used Norefallene between Tunhovdfjorden and Rødberg. It was completed in 1928 and was designed by Norwegian architects Carl Buch and Lorentz Harboe Ree. The ''Nore II kraftverk'' uses the drop between Rødberg dam and the Norefjorden and was completed in 1947. Numedalslågen is known for being a good location for

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

fishing, although a parasite known as '' Gyrodactylus salaris'' has recently been found in Numedalslågen that may pose a threat to its salmon stock. Among the other fish species of Numedalslågen are

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

, eel, and pike.

Name

The river is named after the

valley (). The first element is was the original name of the river. The meaning of that old name is unknown. The last element is which means "

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

" or "

Gallery

Numedalslaagen Kongsberg.jpg, Numedalslågen through Kongsberg Numedalslaagen Nybrufoss.jpg, Nybrufoss on Numedalslågen Numedalslaagen Larvik.jpg, Numedalslågen through Larvik Kongsberg-waterfall-2006.jpg, Numedalslågen in Kongsberg Skjønne, Norway 2007-01-19.jpg, Numedalslågen at Skjønne Lågen ved Komnes.jpg, Numedalslågen at Komnes in Sandsvær

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Numedalslaagen Rivers of Vestfold Rivers of Vestland Rivers of Buskerud Larvik Kongsberg Rivers of Norway

Location

Name

Gallery

See also

References