Mjøsa

The largest lake in Norway

The Mjøsa, with an area of 365 km ², the largest lake in Norway.

Description

It lies 123 meters above sea level, 117 km long and up to 449 meters deep ( bringing the seabed is 330 meters below sea level and it is significantly deeper than the North Sea). Its maximum width, which he achieved in Hamar, is 15 kilometers. This is also the largest island of the lake, Helgøya. 17 large and small rivers flow into the lake, the main one is the Gudbrandsdalslågen which brings the water from the Gudbrandsdalen and flows near Lillehammer. At the southern end of the river leaves the lake materials of Chap. The entire shoreline of the lake is 273 kilometers.

The main towns on the coast, north of Lillehammer, Gjøvik and Hamar in the west to the east.

The scenery along the lake is used predominantly agricultural and forms one of the most fertile areas for growing cereals in Norway.

In the village of Moelv the lake is crossed by a road bridge on the E6. The main railway line from Oslo to Trondheim passes on the eastern shore of the lake, with breakpoints in Hamar and Lillehammer.

Geology

The Mjösa Lake forms the northern part of the Mediterranean Mjösen zone.

Water level

The water level of the lake was repeated regulated.

In the past there had been repeated flooding after rain and snow melt. In 1789, the water rose in Mjøsa by 10 meters and caused great damage. 400 houses were swept away, where 68 people lost their lives.

Worth mentioning

On the lake runs the steamer Skibladner (DS Skibladner ), a paddle steamer from the mid- 19th century, which was put into operation on August 2, 1856, still in operation.

The poet priest Siegbert Stehmann wrote during World War II in 1940 a poem guard at Mjösa.