The Skien watershed is the third largest

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

of Norway after those of the

Glomma The Glomma or Glåma is Norway's longest and most voluminous river. With a total length of , it has a drainage basin that covers 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the river r ...

and the

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

rivers. The catchment area is , and the maximum length is . The Skien watershed includes rivers which feed Lake Norsjø above

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

; * Vinje-Tokke watershed, which includes lakes

Totak Totak is a lake in Vinje Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The lake is located in the Rauland area, about to the north of the village of Åmot. The lake is part of the Skien river watershed ('' Skiensvassdraget''), discharging via the ...

Bandak Bandak is a lake in the municipalities of Kviteseid and Tokke in Telemark county, Norway. The lake, which is part of the Telemark Canal route, belongs to the Skien Drainage basin, watershed. The river Tokke (river), Tokke flows into the lake, a ...

, Kviteseidvatn and Flåvatn. Tokke River rises from Lake Totak in

Vinje Vinje is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark which is part of Øvre Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Åmot. Other villages in the muni ...

. * Bøelva watershed, which includes lakes Sundsbarmvatn and Seljordsvatn. Bøelva flows into Lake Norsjø at Årnesbukta. * Tinnelva watershed, which includes the lakes

Møsvatn Møsvatn or Møsvann is a lake in Vinje Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is the tenth-largest lake in Norway with a surface area of and a volume of . The lake lies just east of the Hardangervidda National Park, in Skien watershed ...

, Kalhovdfjorden, Lake Tinn and Heddalsvatn as well as the Hjartdøla River. The Skien River (''Skienselva'') begins in

Skotfoss Skotfoss is a village in Skien Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The village is located along the river Farelva where lake Norsjø feeds into the Skien watershed. It is located across the river from the village of Åfoss. It is located ...

, at the Telemark Canal's first lock, and runs through

Porsgrunn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Porsgrunn (town), city ...

to the mouth of the river at Frierfjord at

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around th ...

's factory complex. The Skien watershed is heavily regulated for power production and large parts are channeled. The Telemark Canal connects Skien to Dalen at the delta where Tokke River flows into the west end of the Lake Bandak. The canal links the long lakes of Norsjø, Flåvatn, Kviteseidvatn and Bandak using a series of eight locks. Norsjø-Skien Canal, with locks in Skien and by Løveid, was built in 1854–61 and is the oldest of the two channels. This channel connects with Bryggevannet harbor in Skien, and Frierfjord in

Bamble Bamble is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Langesund ...

. Bandak-Norsjø Canal is the second original channel and was opened in 1892.''Om oss'' (Telemarkskanalens)
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References

Other sources

*Eie, Jon Arne; Per Einar Faugli; Jens Aabel (1996) ''Elver og vann. Vern av norske vassdrag'' (Grøndahl Dreyer) {{Coord, 59.5583, 8.4068, region:NO-38, format=dms, display=title Rivers of Telemark Siljan, Norway Rivers of Vestland