Besshø or Besshøe is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in Vågå Municipality in

Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The n ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a 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 Jan Mayen and t ...

. The tall mountain is located in the

Jotunheimen Jotunheimen (; "the home of the Jötunn") is a mountainous area of roughly in southern Norway and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are all located in the Jotunheimen mountains, i ...

mountains within

Jotunheimen National Park Jotunheimen National Park ( no, Jotunheimen nasjonalpark, "Home of the Giants") is a national park in Norway, recognized as one of the country's premier hiking and fishing regions. The national park covers and is part of the larger area Jotunh ...

. The mountain sits about southwest of the village of

Vågåmo Vågåmo is the administrative centre of Vågå Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the Otta River, at the eastern end of the lake Vågåvatn in the Ottadalen valley. The Norwegian National Road 15 passes throug ...

and about northwest of the village of Beitostølen. The mountain is surrounded by several other notable mountains including Kollhøin to the north, Veslfjellet and Besseggen to the southeast,

Bukkehåmåren Bukkehåmåren is a mountain in Vågå Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain is located in the Jotunheimen mountains within Jotunheimen National Park. The mountain sits about southwest of the village of Vågåmo and about ...

and

Eggi Eggi or Eggen is a mountain in Vågå Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The tall mountain is located in the Jotunheimen mountains within Jotunheimen National Park. The mountain sits about southwest of the village of Vågåmo and about ...

to the south, and Gloptinden to the west. The mountain lies right above the lake Bessvatnet, along the Besseggen hiking trail. On the mountain's north-eastern side a small cirque glacier, and is surrounded by a large ice-cored

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris ( regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice sh ...

, a relatively rare feature in Norway. From Besseggen there is a nice view over the lakes Gjende and Bessvatnet. Gjende is about 400 m lower than Bessvatnet. While Bessvatnet has a blue colour common to lakes, Gjende has a green colour due to glacier runoff depositing clay into the lake ( rock flour).

Toponymy

The mountain is named after the lake Bessvatnet, the last element is the finite form of ''hø'' for "large and round mountain".

References

Jotunheimen Vågå Mountains of Innlandet {{Innlandet-mountain-stub

Toponymy

See also

References