Viddalsdammen (
Norwegian for "The Viddal Dam") is a
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
and a
reservoir
A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation.
Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...
in
Aurland Municipality
Aurland () is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center is the village of Aurlandsvangen. Other villages include Bakka, ...
in
Vestland
Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. The reservoir has an area of and the elevation varies between and above sea level.
Viddalsdammen is located at the end of the Låvisdalen valley, about southeast of the village of
Aurlandsvangen
Aurlandsvangen () is the administrative center of Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the east side of the Aurlandsfjorden (a branch of the main Sognefjorden) where the Aurlandselvi river flows into the fjor ...
, about southeast of the village of
Flåm
Flåm () is a village in the Flåmsdalen valley which is located at the inner end of the Aurlandsfjorden, a branch of Sognefjorden. The village is located in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. In 2014 its inhabitants numbered 350. ...
, and about northeast of
Myrdal Station
Myrdal Station () is a mountain railway station and junction, located in Aurland, Vestland, Norway. It serves as an important railway station, connecting the Bergen Line to the Flåm Line local railway. The Bergen Line connects Norway's two large ...
.
The reservoir was formed as part of the building of the
Aurland Hydroelectric Power Station in the 1960s and 1970s when a rock-fill dam was built at the end of the lake Viddalsvatnet. After damming the level of Viddalsvatnet was raised to include the two upstream lakes Liverdalsvatnet and Fretheimsdalsvatnet, and they now form one long contiguous lake. Viddalsdammen receives water through an extensive system of water tunnels that extends around the entire Aurland valley.
See also
*
List of lakes in Norway
This is a list of lakes and reservoirs in Norway, sorted by Counties of Norway, county.
For the geography and history of lakes in that country, see Lakes in Norway, including:
*Lakes in Norway#Largest lakes, List of largest lakes in Norway
*L ...
References
Lakes of Vestland
Aurland
Reservoirs in Norway
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