Orkla (river)

Orkla
Mouth of the river at Orkanger
Location of the river
Orkla (river) (Norway)
Country Norway
Counties Trøndelag, Hedmark
Municipalities Orkdal, Meldal, Rennebu, Tynset
Physical characteristics
Main source Orkelsjøen
Oppdal, Trøndelag
1,058 metres (3,471 ft)
62°30′37″N 9°52′39″E / 62.5102°N 09.8775°E / 62.5102; 09.8775
River mouth Trondheimsfjorden
Orkdal, Trøndelag
0 metres (0 ft)
63°19′09″N 9°50′28″E / 63.31927°N 09.841218°E / 63.31927; 09.841218Coordinates: 63°19′09″N 9°50′28″E / 63.31927°N 09.841218°E / 63.31927; 09.841218
Length 179 km (111 mi)
Discharge
  • Average rate:
    67.27 m3/s (2,376 cu ft/s)
Basin features
River system Orkla
Basin size 3,053 km2 (1,179 sq mi)
Tributaries
  • Left:
    Inna, Byna, Grana, and Resa
  • Right:
    Ya and Svorka

The Orkla is a river in Trøndelag and Hedmark counties in Norway. At 180 kilometres (110 mi) in length, it is the longest river in Trøndelag county. The river follows the Orkdalen valley, discharging into the Orkdalsfjorden, an arm of the large Trondheimsfjorden, at the town of Orkanger.[1]

The river originates in the lake Orkelsjøen in the municipality of Oppdal in the Dovrefjell mountains. The river runs through the municipalities of Oppdal, Tynset, Rennebu, Meldal, and Orkdal. The municipalities are all in Trøndelag county, except for Tynset, which is in Hedmark county. Major towns and villages along the river include: Orkanger, Fannrem, Vormstad, Svorkmo (in Orkdal); Storås, Meldal, Å (in Meldal); and Voll and Berkåk (in Rennebu).

The Orkla is a popular river for salmon fishing, a famous fisherman there being former Liverpool player Vegard Heggem. About an 88-kilometre (55 mi) long stretch of the river through Orkdal, Meldal, and Rennebu is used for salmon fishing throughout the season from June through August.[2]

The river is regulated by five power generation reservoirs, which were built between 1978 and 1985. The reservoirs have been a successful method of flood control preventing the river's major seasonal flooding.[1] The decommissioned Eidsfossen Power Station stands along the river south of the confluence with the Ya River at Yset.[3]

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was just Ork (still found in the names Orkanger, Orkdal and Orkland). The meaning of the name is unknown (maybe derived from the verb orka which means "to work" - the meaning of the name would then be "the river that works its way forward"). The name Orkla (with the diminutive ending -la) originally belonged to the uppermost part of the river (lying in Tynset, Hedmark), and the meaning of this name is probably "the small part of Ork".[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Store norske leksikon. "Orkla" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  2. ↑ "The Orkla River". VisitNorway.com. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  3. ↑ "Eidsfossen". Kvikne i storbukkens rike. Retrieved July 24, 2018.


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