The Ivalo River (, , ) is a river that flows through upper Lapland into

Lake Inari Lake Inari (, , , , , ) is the largest lake in Sápmi and the third-largest lake in Finland. It is located in the northern part of Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle. The lake is above sea level, and is regulated at the Kaitakoski power plan ...

. The Ivalo River starts from the Korsatunturi hugging the border between the communities of Inari and

Enontekiö Enontekiö (; ; ; ; ) is a municipality in the Finnish part of Lapland with approximately inhabitants. It is situated in the outermost northwest of the country and occupies a large and very sparsely populated area of about between the Swedis ...

, where two side streams are meeting. The first streams branching off of it can be found on the

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s of Peltotunturi on the border between

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

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 ...

along the western border of the

Lemmenjoki National Park Lemmenjoki National Park (, , ) is situated in area of municipalities of Inari and Kittilä, Lapland, in Northern Finland. It was founded in 1956 and has since been expanded twice. Its total area is , making it the biggest national park of Finl ...

. The river flows into Lake Inari from a delta approximately from the village of the same name, which is located on both banks of this meandering, shallow run. The

Repo A repurchase agreement, also known as a repo, RP, or sale and repurchase agreement, is a form of secured short-term borrowing, usually, though not always using government securities as collateral. A contracting party sells a security to a lend ...

Tolos Tolos is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Chris Tolos (1929–2005), Canadian professional wrestler *John Tolos (1930–2009), Canadian professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager, brother of Chris See also * Tol ...

, Sota and Kylä Rivers, the latter two of which are renowned for the gold found in them, are some of the Ivalo River's tributaries. For almost its entire length, the Ivalo River flows through wilderness. Near its headwaters, the river meanders as a narrow stream through the southernmost bogs of the Lemmenjoki National Park. Halfway down its length, the national park becomes the

Hammastunturi Wilderness Area The Hammastunturi Wilderness Area (; literally translated "tooth fell") is located in Lapland, Finland. It was established in 1991 like all the other 11 wilderness areas of Finland. It covers situated in a fell and forest area between the Urho K ...

, through which it flows almost all the way to

Ivalo Ivalo (, , , ) is a village in the municipality of Inari, Lapland, Finland, located on the Ivalo River south of Lake Inari in the Arctic Circle. It has a population of 3,998 and a small airport, located 11 kilometres (7 mi) southwest from Iv ...

River of gold

The Ivalo River has been nicknamed the "River of gold". During the Lapland gold rush in the 1870s, the place Kultala was built on the banks of the river some 17 kilometre (11 mi) down of

Kuttura Kuttura is a small village in Finland, in the southwest corner of the municipality of Inari, Finland, Inari on the west bank of the Ivalo River next to the Hammastunturi Wilderness Area. At the end of 2005, 21 people lived in the village. Histor ...

as a base for the state agency, distributing prospecting permits and warrants, cashing gold catches, monitoring gold property orders, and preparing claim maps. The movie Lapin kullan kimallus by director

Åke Lindman Åke Leonard Lindman (born Åke Leonard Järvinen; born 11 January 1928 – 3 March 2009) was a Finnish director and actor. In his youth Lindman was a football player, playing as a defender for the Finland national team during the 1952 Summer ...

portrays the height of the gold rush. In the late 1880s, the rush faded out. Even nowadays, hundreds of gold claims, differing greatly in size, are still staked out along the banks of the river and its tributaries.

Tourism

The Ivalo River gains in popularity as a tourist attraction, it was named the ''Destination of the Year'' at the Retki 2005 fair. A stretch of rapids from Kuttura to Tolonen has been a traditional destination for

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

rs. Lately, it has become popular with whitewater rafters, as well. Tourists can hike to areas where gold was and is still being mined by following marked trails. A pedestrian

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

spans the Ivalo River at Kultala, which is an outdoor museum about the gold rush nowadays, offering accommodation for hikers. Fishermen can try to catch

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

and graylings. With luck, they might even snag a

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

or whitefish. The river's tributaries are teeming with trout that range from long.

References

External links

* Rivers of Finland Paatsjoki basin Landforms of Lapland (Finland) Rivers of Inari, Finland {{Finland-river-stub