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The Torne, also known as the Tornio (, , , , ), is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. For approximately half of its length, it defines the border between these two countries. In the upper parts, the river is situated in Sweden before it meets the Muonio River where it adjoins the international border. It rises at the lake Torneträsk near the border with
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 ...
and flows generally southeast for a distance of into the
Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...
. It is the largest river in
Norrbotten County Norrbotten County (, Meänkieli/, ) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares borders with Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf ...
both by length and by watershed area. At its source, the Torne is located close to the
North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...
and
Narvik () is the third-largest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Narvik (town), town of Narvik. Some of the notable villag ...
on the other side of the watershed, with several thousands of kilometres between the locations via waterways.


Geography

The Torne basin has a total area of or (see sidebar). Of this, or Huvudavrinningsområden på gränsen mellan Sverige, Norge och Finland
/ref> is 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 ...
, International river basins of the world
or is in
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
and or is in
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 ...
.


Nominal source and hydrological source

The source of the Torne is generally believed to be the lake Torneträsk near the border with Norway. But the main feeder of this lake is Abiskojåkka, flowing out of Abiskojaure, which is mainly fed by Kamajåkka, coming from tributary Gamajávri. This lake's major
tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
is Válfojohka. That river comes from Lake Válfojávri in Norway's
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 ...
, but near to that lake it is joined by a nameless, longer stream, according to official Swedish maps fed by a small glacier, above sea level ().


Lake Torne

Other affluents of Lake Torne are Njuoraätno and Kåppasjåkka in the west, Gurttejohka, Snurrijåkka, Bessešjohka, Bággesgorsajohka, Davip Duoptejohka, Lulip Duoptejohka, Sarvájohka and others in the north, and Rákkasjohka, Gohpasjohka, Miellejohka, Bessešjohka, Golkkokjohka, Nivsakkjohka and others in the south.Lantmäteriets fjällkarta BD6 Abisko-Kebnekaise-Narvik Above Torne lake, the watershed of the Torne includes the villages Riksgränsen, Katterjåkk, Vassijaure, Låktatjåkka, Kopperåsen and Tornehamn. On the south shore of Torne lake are Björkliden,
Abisko Abisko (; ) is a village in Sápmi (Lapland (Sweden), Lapland), in northern Sweden, roughly 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, and near Abisko National Park, located 4 km west of the village. It had 85 inhabitants as of 2005. Permafr ...
, Stordalen, Kaisepakte. Stenbacken and Torneträsk. On the north shore are the
Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...
villages Laimoluokta and Kattuvuoma.


Upper river

Beyond the lake, the Torne River flows unhindered by any concentrations of human inhabitants until the village of Kurravaara, around northeast of
Kiruna (; ; ; ) is the northernmost Stad (Sweden), city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland, Sweden, Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County. The c ...
. The river splits in two parts that only join at Kurravaara;Lantmäteriets fjällkarta BD4 Kiruna the part between the river is Alajávri nature reserve. Between the lake and Kurravaara, the streams Čearrojogaš and Rávdojohka join on the right side, and shortly before Kurravaara, the long Rautas River flows into the Torne. On the left side, the streams Gukkajohka, Reaskkajohka and Dápmokjohka join. In the area between the two streams, the Beallejohka joins the right arm from the left. After Kurravaara, the river proceeds Laxforsen, where it is joined from the right by the Luossajoki. Here is the first bridge over the river for the road leading from the E10 to Laxforsen, Luossajärvi and Esrange.Lantmäteriets Översiktkarta 1 Kiruna The river continues to Jukkasjärvi, where an
ice hotel An ice hotel is a temporary hotel made up of snow and sculpted blocks of ice. Ice hotels, dependent on sub-freezing temperatures, are constructed from ice and snow and typically have to be rebuilt every year. Ice hotels exist in several countri ...
is built in winter from the river ice.


To the Bifurcation

Beyond Paksuniemi, the river is joined by the Pounujoki from the right. At Vittangi, the long Vittangi river,Vattendragsregistret
/ref> which passes by
Esrange , , , , , , , , , Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located about 40 kilometers east of the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high-altitude balloons, investigation of the a ...
, joins from the left. Here is the second river-crossing bridge, used by the E45 to
Karesuando Karesuando (; or ; Northern Sámi: ; Meänkieli: ''Karesuanto'') is the northernmost locality in Sweden. It is situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden, with 303 inhabitants in 2010 and 350 in 2011. It is a church village, l ...
. The river then proceeds to Kuoksu, where it is crossed by the road to Lainio and Oksajärvi, and to Juopakosku, where the Junojoki joins from the left. At Junosuando, the Torne river loses 56% of its water to the
Tärendö River The Tärendö River (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Tärendö älv'', Meänkieli: ''Täränönväylä'') is a small distributary river to the Kalix River in Norrbotten County, Norrbotten, Sweden. It is the second largest river bifurcation, bifurcatio ...
in one of the four bifurcations in the watershed area. Here is also a bridge for the road to Kangos and Parkolombolo; this is the fourth bridge over the river. Shortly after Junosuando, the Piipionjoki joins from the left and at Palokorva, the long Lainio River joins from the left. In the Lainio River watershed are two more, smaller bifurcations: the lakes Goldajávri, Råstojaure flow toward contributaries of the Laino river as well as to the Norwegian streams Signaldalselva and Råstaelva respectively.


Down to Pajala

Between Junosuando and
Pajala Pajala () is a locality and the seat of Pajala Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden, with 1,958 inhabitants in 2010. It is located in Swedish Lapland. Pajala is in part of the Meänmaa (Torne valley) region and was in past times unilingua ...
, the Käymäjoki joins from the left and the Liviöjoki and the Mertajoki join from the right. The village Anttis is located on the left bank of the river, with Swedish road Riksväg 395 on the right bank; the fifth bridge connects Anttis to the main road. Shortly after Pajala, the Torne river joins with the long Muonio River, the biggest contributary of the Torne river. Near Pajala are two more bridges going north. North of this point, the Muonio river forms the border with Finland. From this point, the border with Finland is formed by the Torne river.


Lower river

From here the river flows south along the Finno-Swedish border. Slightly south of Pajala is a border-crossing bridge for a road leading to Kolari, the eighth bridge over the main river from the source. The river proceeds to the village Kassa. At the village of Pello, which lies on both sides of the river, is a bridge between the two parts. The river continues south to Svanstein, crosses the arctic circle at Juoksengi and proceeds to Niskanpää and Kuivakangas. In
Övertorneå Övertorneå (; ) is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Övertorneå Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 1,917 inhabitants in 2010. It is located at the shore of the Torne (Finnish and Swedish river), Torne River, oppos ...
(Finnish:
Ylitornio Ylitornio (; ; ; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Lapland, Finland, Lapland along the Torne (Finnish and Swedish river), Tornio River, opposite the Sweden, Swedish ...
) there is another bridge, the final road bridge before the sea. Here, the long Tengeliön River joins from the (Finnish) left side . The river continues to
Hedenäset Hedenäset (; ) is a locality situated in Övertorneå Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borde ...
and Risudden. At Karungi, the Liakanjoki departs from the Torne river and flows to the
Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...
independently in Finland. From Karungi south, there are railways on both sides of the valley. At Kukkola is Kukkolaforsen, a rapids which is also a tourist attraction. Before finally arriving at the twin city of Haparanda/
Tornio Tornio (; ; ; ) is a city and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border Twin cities, twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is wat ...
, it passes by the villages Vojakkala and Mattila. In the twin city of Haparanda/Tornio are four more bridges: one for cyclists and pedestrians, one for local traffic, one for the E4 and the southernmost, last and 14th bridge over the Tornio river is a
dual gauge Dual gauge railroad track has three or four rails, allowing vehicles of two track gauges to run on it. Signalling and sidings are more expensive to install on dual gauge tracks than on two single gauge tracks. Dual gauge is used when there i ...
railway bridge connecting the Swedish and Finnish railway systems.


History

Antti Keksi authored a poem about the 1677 river flood. In the
Treaty of Fredrikshamn The Treaty of Fredrikshamn, or the Treaty of Hamina, was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 September 1809. The treaty concluded the Finnish War and was signed in the Finnish town of Fredrikshamn ( Hamina). Russia ...
in 1809, when Sweden lost the areas which constitute present-day Finland to
Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...
, the river was together with the Muonio River and Könkämä River chosen as border between Sweden and the new Russian
Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...
, thus splitting the
provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...
of Lappland and
Västerbotten Västerbotten (), sometimes called West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in northern Sweden, located by the Gulf of Bothnia. It borders the provinces of Ångermanland, Lapland and Norrbotten. The region is famous for Väs ...
. According to the treaty, the border shall follow the deepest part of the river. Near Haparanda/Tornio the border was fixed in the treaty, partly on land, so the city of Tornio would belong to Russia. Once every 25 years, a commission of Swedish and Finnish representatives shall review this border. This means that the border can move, such as in 2006 when such a border change was undertaken.


Natural history

Research on ice breakup on the river and on Lake Suwa in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
suggested "global processes including climate change and variability are driving the long-term changes in ice seasonality."


Culture

The Torne river is vital to the history and culture of the Tornedalian people and features frequently and consistently in Tornedalian literature and cinema and is vital to traditional livelihoods. The Tornedalian name for the river ''Väylä'' also means path, artery or way. Tornedalians have inhabited the area since perhaps the 800s. From the later 1800s up until the 1950s the Swedish state attempted to forcefully assimilate Tornedalians and swedify Meänmaa.


See also

* Geography of Finland * Geography of Sweden * Torne, Finland * Torne Valley


References


External links

{{Authority control Rivers of Finland Tornio International rivers of Europe Border rivers Finland–Sweden border Rivers of Norrbotten County