Gauldal or Gauldalen () is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

and traditional district in

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

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 river Gaula runs through the long valley from the mountains in Røros Municipality near the lake Aursunden to the

Trondheimsfjorden The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's List of Norwegian fjords, third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from Ørl ...

. The narrow valley runs northwards from Røros to the Haltdalen area, where it widens some, turns and heads generally to the west to the village of

Støren is the administrative centre of Midtre Gauldal Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located in the Gauldalen valley at the confluence of the rivers Gaula and ''Sokna''. Støren is located on the European route E06 highw ...

. At Støren it turns again and heads north through what is now a wide, agricultural valley until it reaches the sea just south of the city of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

. The Rørosbanen and Dovrebanen railway lines follow the Gauldalen valley on their way to Trondheim. The

European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...

highway and the Norwegian County Road 30 also follow the valley. The traditional district of Gauldal includes

Holtålen Municipality Holtålen is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is located in the Ålen area o ...

Midtre Gauldal Municipality Midtre Gauldal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Støren. ...

, and

Melhus Municipality Melhus is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Melhus (village), village o ...

. Røros Municipality is often (traditionally) counted as a part of the district, even though it lies outside the actual Gaula river valley.

History

In September 1345, there was a landslide just north of the village of

. The landslide was at a very narrow point in the valley and possibly of gravel and dirt from the mountainside fell and blocked the valley and Gaula river below creating a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

on the river that was possibly high. This tremendous landslide then created a quickly rising lake that began to flood the valley up to upstream from the dam. This newly formed lake flooded and destroyed 25 upstream farms in the narrow valley. The vast amount of water building up behind the earthen dam from the landslide did not hold long and, when it burst, the water rushed though the dam and caused a major flood downstream, killing about 500 people and destroying another 25 farms as well as several churches. The downstream flash flood continued to just past the village of Melhus, not far from the mouth of the river Gaula. This was one of the worst natural disasters ever in Norway.

Media gallery

Gauldalen Valley, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway.jpg, Gauldalen valley Gauldalen Valley, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway (6171262017).jpg, Gauldalen valley Gauldalen Valley, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway (6331095613).jpg, Gauldalen valley Gauldalen Valley, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway (6262695961).jpg, Historic farm in the valley Gaula, viewed from Haga bru (002).jpg, Gaula river Gaula, viewed from Haga bru (001).jpg, Gaula river Støren sentrum (01).JPG, Støren village Støren kirke.jpg, Støren Church Melhus sentrum.JPG, Melhus village

References

{{authority control Districts of Trøndelag Holtålen Midtre Gauldal Melhus Røros Valleys of Trøndelag