Lule River
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| Lule River | |
|---|---|
| Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. Harsprånget in Lule River, August 2007 | |
| Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found. Location of Lule älv | |
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| Native name | Template:Native name checker |
| Location | |
| Country | Sweden, Norway |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | Gulf of Bothnia |
• location | Luleå, Norrbotten, Sweden |
• coordinates | Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. |
• elevation | Template:Infobox river/calcunit |
| Length | Template:Infobox river/calcunit |
Basin size | Template:Infobox river/calcunit |
| • minimum | Template:Infobox river/calcunit |
| • average | Template:Infobox river/calcunit |
| • maximum | Template:Infobox river/calcunit |
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Lule River (Template:Langx, Template:Langx, Luleälven) is a major river in Sweden, rising in northern Sweden and flowing southeast for 460 km (290 mi) before reaching the Gulf of Bothnia at Luleå. It is the second largest river by watershed area and length in Norrbotten County (after the Torne River and very slightly ahead of the Kalix River, which is 460.65 km long), but is the largest by average discharge.
It has a watershed of 25,240.5 km2 of which 24,545.6 km2 is in Sweden and 694.9 km2 in Norway.
The river is an important source of hydroelectric energy, with major hydroelectric plants at Porjus and the 977 MW Harsprånget, commissioned in 1952 and expanded in 1983 to become Sweden's largest hydro power station.[3] The waterfall Harsprånget previously found at the location (former name: Njommelsaska) was the largest waterfall on the Swedish Lule River.
The river was used extensively for the transportation of timber, with logs floated downstream for processing at Luleå, but this stopped in the early 1980s.
Course
The Greater Lule River (Big Lule River) arguably begins somewhere near Bajep Sårjåsjávrre in Norway, just east of Blåmannsisen glacier. The water flows over the border to the Virihaure lake in Padjelanta National Park, which also collects water from Kerkevare (via Kettaurejokk) and Alkajaure (via Millätno). The Tukejokk joins the Lule as well in Virihaure. Leaving Virihaure to the north, the river reaches the Vastenjaure lake after losing 32m over 2.2 km. It then flows via the Vuojatätno to lake Kutjaure and then Luoktanjarkajaure, collecting a lot of water from other lakes in Sarek National Park, like Salohaure, and from the Swedish-Norwegian border, before entering the Akkajaure reservoir, which has a storage capacity in excess of 6 km3, constituting the largest man-made lake in Sweden.
The creation and expansion of the reservoir as well as the later added power plant Vietas meant the curtailment of flow downstream to the waterfall Stora Sjöfallet, where the water falls 39.6 m from Kårtjejaure to Langasjaure and which used to be known as one of the most impressive waterfalls in Sweden. In the latter of the lakes, the Vietasajokk joins the Lule, nowadays also through the aforementioned powerplant. After Langas, the river drops 2 meters in a small section of rapids known as Jaurekaska into Stora Lulevatten, which is the largest of the lakes in the river.
The 20 km long stretch between the outlet of Stora Lulevatten and just downstream of Ligga is particularly noteworthy for its geology and topography. Whereas the topsoil along the shore for most of the course is constituted of moraine, the river banks along this particular stretch are largely constituted of exposed bedrock.[4] In this section, the river alters considerably to rather have the characteristics of a mountain torrent than a large river, as in its natural state, it drops more than 207 meters through a nearly continuous series of rapids and waterfalls, including those at Porjus and Harsprånget in what partly was constituted of a deep, narrow gorge, sometimes over 40 meters deep. The sustained gradient for this section is around 1%, which is extremely steep for a river of the size, considering its average flow rate here reaches 270 m3/s. The sustained, concentrated drop combined with the river's high average flow rate affords the three hydroelectric power plants along the segment, namely Porjus, Harsprånget and Ligga a combined hydroelectric potential that rivals Ulla-Førre or all the power plants along the High Rhine in productivity, as this corridor alone produces an annual average of 4.2 TWh, or 30% of the production on the entire river system, including tributaries. It is believed that the river's course in pre-glacial times downstream of Stora Lulevatten went through the Råne River valley. Later, it's believed that the river broke its present more southernly course through stream capture by the present right tributary Pakkojokk along fracture zones, with the resulting increased flow rate eroding the deeply incised valley downstream of Stora Lulevatten.[5]
Downstream of Ligga, the river drops another 87 meters over 25 km. In its natural state, this stretch was made up of several, continuous rapids, whereas today, this section is wholly made up of the Messaure reservoir, which is dammed by a 2 km long, 100 m tall rock-fill dam, the largest in Sweden, where said drop is exploited for power generation. At this segment, the main river is joined by the Muddus River from Muddus National Park.
Downstream, at 75m above sea level, near the village of Vuollerim, the river joins with the Lesser Lule River. The Lule passes the Porsiforsen (25m over 2 km), Edefors and Hedens fors, rapids that nowadays all likewise have been exploited for power generation. It flows into the Baltic Sea through the Bälingefjärden and Lulefjärden.
The name of the town Luleå means "Lule River"; the river's name is from the Sami lulij meaning "Easterner", a name for Forest Sami people.[6][7]
Other rivers in the watershed of the Lule with a length of more than 100 km are: Blackälven, Flarkån, Lesser Lule River, Pärlälven, Rissajåkkå, Vietasätno, and Bodträskån.
Hydroelectric power stations
Total nameplate capacity is around 4.1 GW. With an annual average electricity production of 13.7 TWh, with the record year of 2022 exceeding 17 TWh,[8] it's not only the by far most important river for hydroelectric power generation in Sweden, alone making up 21% of all hydropower generation and as of 2024 also around 8% of Sweden's total electricity generation, but also when including its main tributary Lesser Lule river one of the most productive river basins in Europe excluding Russia, behind only the Danube, Rhine,[9] Rhône[10] and Po[11] river basins.
All power stations in the river system are owned by Vattenfall AB.
| Power station | Entered service | Annual
production. |
Nameplate capacity (MW) |
River | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ritsem | 1977 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 320 | Vietasätno | Transfers water from lake Sitasaure to Akkajaure through a 17 km long tunnel |
| Vietas | 1971 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 320 | Greater Lule River, Vietasätno | Uses water from Akkajaure and Sádijávrre |
| Porjus | 1915 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 422 | Greater Lule River | New station built in 1982 |
| Harsprånget | 1951 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 811 | Greater Lule River | Largest plant by nameplate capacity in Sweden. Expanded between 1974-1983 with two new generators. Oldest generator idled. |
| Ligga | 1954 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 320 | Greater Lule River | Expanded between 1977-1982 with a new generator |
| Messaure | 1963 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 428 | Greater Lule River | Largest dam by volume in Sweden |
| Seitevare | 1967 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 201 | Blackälven | Dams a tributary to the Lesser Lule river. Second largest reservoir by volume in the river system at 1.7 km3 |
| Parki | 1970 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 19 | Lesser Lule river | |
| Randi | 1976 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 85 | Lesser Lule river | |
| Akkats | 1973 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 156 | Lesser Lule river | Sluice gates and inlet house are decorated in art by Bengt Lindström and Lars Pirak |
| Letsi | 1967 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 474 | Lesser Lule river | Uses a 6 km long tunnel to transfer water to the Greater Lule river above the two rivers' natural confluence, resulting in a 17 km long mostly dry riverbed |
| Porsi | 1961 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 273 | Lule river | Expanded in 1984-1987 with a new generator |
| Laxede | 1962 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 200 | Lule river | Expanded in 1982 with a new generator |
| Vittjärv | 1974 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 31 | Lule river | Built on a concrete base plate |
| Boden | 1971 | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 75 | Lule river | |
| Total | Script error: No such module "Number table sorting". | 4 135 |
Fortifications
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the river was designated as a defensive line against an invasion from Imperial Russia and subsequently the Soviet Union. Extensive fortifications exist along the entire length of the river, culminating in Bodens Fortress in and around the city of Boden. Most of these fortifications and bunkers are no longer in use.
References
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- Template:In lang article Lule älf from Nordisk Familjebok (1912)
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- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Luleälven". Nationalencyklopedin (in Swedish). Retrieved 14 July 2010.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) (subscription required) - ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Län och huvudavrinningsområden i Sverige" (PDF) (in Swedish). Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Mellgren, Erik. "Third time counted for Harsprånget", Ny Teknik 28 July 2012. Retrieved: 7 August 2012.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hamberg, Axel (1906). "Öfversikt av Lule älfs geologi" (PDF). Geological Survey of Sweden. C (202): 9–10.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Lidmar-Bergström, Karna; Olvmo, Mats (2015). "Plains, steps, hilly relief and valleys in northern Sweden – review, interpretations and implications for conclusions on Phanerozoic tectonics". Geological Survey of Sweden. C: 20, 29, 36 – via ResearchGate.
- ^ "Luleå", Nationalencyklopedin, 1989-1996
- ^ Wahlberg, Mats (editor) (2003) "Luleå", Svenskt ortnamnslexikon. Uppsala: Institutet för språk och folkminnen. ISBN 91-7229-020-X.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Lule älv producerar historiskt rekord på 17 TWh (Swedish)". Vattenfall. Archived from the original on 2025-08-15. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Uehlinger, Urs; Wantzen, Karl; Leuven, Rob S.E.W; Arndt, Hartmut (2009). "The Rhine River Basin". Rivers of Europe. Academic Press. pp. 199–245. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-369449-2.00006-0. ISBN 978-0-12-369449-2 – via ResearchGate.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Olivier, Jean-Michel; Carrel, Georges; Lamouroux, Nicolas; Dole-Olivier, Marie-José; Malard, Florian; Bravard, Jean-Paul; Amoros, Claude (2009). "The Rhône river basin". Rivers of Europe. Academic Press. pp. 247–295. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-369449-2.00007-2. ISBN 978-0-12-369449-2 – via ResearchGate.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Formetta, Giuseppe; Tootle, Glenn; Therrell, Matthew (2022). "Regional Reconstruction of Po River Basin (Italy) Streamflow". Hydrology. 9 (10): 163. Bibcode:2022Hydro...9..163F. doi:10.3390/hydrology9100163. hdl:11572/379053.
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