# Orkla (river)

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River in Innlandet, Norway

Orkla The mouth of the river at Orkanger Interactive map of the river Location Country Norway Counties Trøndelag, Innlandet Municipalities Oppdal Municipality, Orkland Municipality, Rennebu Municipality, Tynset Municipality Physical characteristics Source Orkelsjøen • location Oppdal Municipality, Trøndelag • coordinates 62°30′37″N 9°52′39″E / 62.5102°N 09.8775°E / 62.5102; 09.8775 • elevation 1,058 metres (3,471 ft) Mouth Orkanger • location Orkland Municipality, Trøndelag • coordinates 63°19′09″N 9°50′28″E / 63.31927°N 09.841218°E / 63.31927; 09.841218 • elevation 0 metres (0 ft) Length 179 km (111 mi) Basin size 3,053 km2 (1,179 sq mi) Discharge • average 67.27 m3/s (2,376 cu ft/s) Basin features River system Orkla Tributaries • left Inna, Byna, Grana, and Resa • right Ya and Svorka

**Orkla**[1] is a river in [Trøndelag](/source/Tr%C3%B8ndelag) and [Innlandet](/source/Innlandet) counties in [Norway](/source/Norway). At 180 kilometres (110 mi) in length, it is the longest river in [Trøndelag](/source/Tr%C3%B8ndelag) county. The river follows the [Orkdalen](/source/Orkdalen) valley, discharging into the [Orkdal Fjord](/source/Orkdal_Fjord), an arm of the large [Trondheimsfjorden](/source/Trondheimsfjorden), at the town of [Orkanger](/source/Orkanger).[2]

The river originates in the lake [Orkelsjøen](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orkelsj%C3%B8en&action=edit&redlink=1), a small lake (2.2 km2 (0.85 sq mi)) near the watershed with the river Unna in the Glomma river system, in [Oppdal Municipality](/source/Oppdal_Municipality) in the [Dovrefjell](/source/Dovrefjell) mountains. The river runs through Oppdal Municipality, [Tynset Municipality](/source/Tynset_Municipality), [Rennebu Municipality](/source/Rennebu_Municipality), and [Orkland Municipality](/source/Orkland_Municipality). The municipalities are all in Trøndelag county, except for Tynset Municipality, which is in [Innlandet](/source/Innlandet) county. Major towns and villages along the river include: Orkanger, [Fannrem](/source/Fannrem), [Vormstad](/source/Vormstad), [Svorkmo](/source/Svorkmo), [Storås](/source/Stor%C3%A5s), [Meldal](/source/Meldal_(village)), [Å](/source/%C3%85%2C_Meldal) (in Orkland Municipality); and [Voll](/source/Voll%2C_Tr%C3%B8ndelag) and [Berkåk](/source/Berk%C3%A5k) (in Rennebu Municipality).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Orkla is a popular river for [salmon](/source/Salmon) fishing and the fourth largest in Norway by volume.[2] About an 88-kilometre (55 mi) long stretch of the river through Orkland Municipality and Rennebu Municipality is used for salmon fishing throughout the season which typically runs from 1 June through 31 August.[3]

The river is regulated by five power generation [reservoirs](/source/Reservoir_(water)), which were built between 1978 and 1985. The reservoirs have been a successful method of [flood control](/source/Flood_control) preventing the river's major seasonal [flooding](/source/Flood).[2] The decommissioned [Eidsfossen Power Station](/source/Eidsfossen_Hydroelectric_Power_Station) stands along the river south of the confluence with the [Ya River](/source/Ya_(river)) at [Yset](/source/Yset).[4]

## Name

The [Old Norse](/source/Old_Norse) form of the name was just *Ork* (still found in the names [Orkanger](/source/Orkanger), [Orkdal](/source/Orkdal_Municipality), [Orkland](/source/Orkland_Municipality)) and Orkelsjøen. The meaning of the name is unknown (maybe derived from the old Norse 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](/source/Diminutive) ending *-la*) originally belonged to the uppermost part of the river (lying in [Tynset Municipality](/source/Tynset_Municipality), [Innlandet](/source/Innlandet)), and the meaning of this name is probably "the small part of Ork".[2]

## See also

- [List of rivers in Norway](/source/List_of_rivers_in_Norway)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Informasjon om stadnamn"](https://stadnamn.kartverket.no/fakta/557512). *Norgeskart* (in Norwegian). [Kartverket](/source/Norwegian_Mapping_Authority). Retrieved 9 January 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-snl_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-snl_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-snl_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-snl_2-3) [Store norske leksikon](/source/Store_norske_leksikon). ["Orkla"](http://www.snl.no/Orkla) (in Norwegian). Retrieved 27 January 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["The Orkla River"](http://www.visitnorway.com/uk/sponsored/UK/Sponsored-articles/Salmon-rivers/The-Orkla-River/). VisitNorway.com. Retrieved 27 January 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Eidsfossen Kraftverk"](https://kvikne.no/kulturminner/eidsfossen-kraftverk/) (in Norwegian). Kvikne.no. Retrieved 14 February 2021.

Authority control databases VIAF WorldCat

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Orkla (river)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkla_(river)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkla_(river)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.