Saltstraumen is a small

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean chan ...

with one of the strongest tidal currents in the world. It is located in the municipality of

Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland coun ...

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. It is located about southeast of the town of Bodø. The narrow channel connects the outer Saltfjorden to the large Skjerstad Fjord between the islands of Straumøya and

Knaplundsøya Knaplundsøya or Godøya is an island in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island lies just southeast of the town of Bodø, between the Saltfjorden and the Skjerstadfjorden. The island is connected to the mainland and to the ...

. The Saltstraumen Bridge on Norwegian County Road 17 crosses Saltstraumen. Saltstraumen current in Norway

Current

Saltstraumen has one of the strongest tidal currents in the world. Up to of seawater forces its way through a long and wide strait every six hours. Vortices known as whirlpools or

maelstrom Maelstrom may refer to: * Maelstrom (whirlpool), a powerful whirlpool ** originally the Moskstraumen in English Amusement rides * Maelstrom (ride), a former log flume dark ride attraction in the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World Resort i ...

s up to in diameter and in depth are formed when the current is at its strongest. At this point, one source claims that the tidal current can reach . Saltstraumen has existed for about two to three thousand years. Before that, the area was different due to post-glacial rebound. The current is created when the tide tries to fill Skjerstad Fjord. The height difference between the

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

and the fjord inside can be up to . When the current turns, there is a period when the strait is navigable. Saltstraumen quiet

The above account of the Saltstraumen is rather different than what The Norwegian Pilot reports. The Pilot’s description of the normal current is based on the time of the high tide at Bodø. The greatest southbound current occurs about one and a quarter hours before Bodø high tide, when the inflowing current reaches about . The speed of the current has a broad maximum being greater than from three hours before Bodø high tide until half an hour after Bodø high tide. The greatest northbound current occurs about four and a half hours after Bodø high tide, when the outflowing current reaches over . The speed of this current also has a broad maximum being above six knots from two hours and forty minutes after Bodø high tide until five and a half hours before the next Bodø high tide. The behavior of the current may differ from normal due to strong winds or when more fresh water than usual is entering into the fjord from the surrounding mountains.

Fishing

Saltstraumen is popular with anglers, due to its abundance of fish such as saithe, cod,

wolffish Anarhichadidae, the wolffishes, sea wolves or wolf eels, is a family of marine ray finned fishes belonging to the order Scorpaeniformes. These are predatory, eel shaped fishes which are native to the cold waters of the Arctic, North Pacific and ...

, rose fish, and halibut. Coalfish is a specialty of the area. The largest documented coalfish of was caught in Saltstraumen on a fishing rod. Eiders are the only birds capable of diving for

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which ...

s in the strong stream.

Name

The first element is the name of the district Salten and the last element is the definite form of ''straum'', meaning "stream" or "water flow".

History

The remains of a 10,000-year-old hunter settlement in the area are the oldest known traces of human settlement in Bodø, and also one of the oldest archaeological discoveries in Norway. These hunters lived on the edge of the ice, attracted by the abundance of fish caused by the strong currents.

Media gallery

References

External links

Local Norwegian site with details about the current, in EnglishVisit Norway's guide to Saltstraumen
{{authority control Whirlpools Landforms of Nordland Bodies of water of Norway Bodø Tourist attractions in Nordland Straits of Norway Articles containing video clips