Sjoa
| Sjoa | |
|---|---|
.jpg) View of the river (2005) Credit: TaHan | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Innlandet |
| Municipalities | Vågå Municipality and Sel Municipality |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Gjende lake |
| • location | Gjendesheim, Vågå Municipality |
| • coordinates | 61°29′42″N 8°48′29″E / 61.4949763°N 8.8080739°E |
| • elevation | 985 metres (3,232 ft) |
| Mouth | Gudbrandsdalslågen |
• location | Sjoa, Sel Municipality |
• coordinates | 61°40′47″N 9°32′04″E / 61.67964345°N 9.53443765°E |
• elevation | 270 metres (890 ft) |
| Length | 98 km (61 mi) |
| Basin size | 1,527 km2 (590 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 34.4 m3/s (1,210 cu ft/s) |
Sjoa[1] is a river in Innlandet county, Norway. The 98-kilometre (61 mi) long river runs through Vågå Municipality and Sel Municipality and it provides the outlet from lake Gjende at Gjendesheim in the Jotunheimen mountains of Norway's Jotunheim National Park. The river flows eastward through the Sjodalen valley and Heidal valley into the Gudbrandsdalslågen river at the village of Sjoa.[2]
South of the village of Randsverk, the river flows through Ridderspranget which is a ravine named after a Norwegian myth.
Rafting, kayaking and fishing
[edit]The river is used for kayaking, rafting and fishing. Thirteen deaths have occurred in the river, from 1989 to 2010. This includes four deaths involving a group of tourists in various inflatable "catarafts", on 24 July 2010 (a national newspaper claimed that at that time the level of the river was 10 centimetres (4 in) above a safe level for rafting).[3][4]
There are several companies offering rafting, kayaking, riverboarding and other activities in Sjoa and the surrounding area.[5] Some parts of the river are impossible to raft. Some parts are blocked by large rocks which the river flows underneath. These areas are considered "death traps" by the local commercial rafting providers.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Informasjon om stadnamn". Norgeskart (in Norwegian). Kartverket. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ^ Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (26 November 2024). "Sjoa". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ^ "Four Ukrainiens Died in Rafting Accident". The Nordic Page.
- ^ Dagbladet, July 25, 2010 page 10
- ^ "Heidal rafting i Sjøa". HeidalRaftingiSjøa.no. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ^ "The Best White-Water Rafting Destinations In Europe". WorldAtlas.com. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
External links
[edit]- Sjoa Raftingsenter NWR Rafting and riverboarding in the Sjoa area.
- Sjoa Rafting White Water River Adventures in Norway.
- GoRafting.no White Water River Adventures in the Sjoa River
- Sjoafestivalen Festival in and by Sjoa
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