Torridal is a

V-shaped 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 a ve ...

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

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 valley passes through portions of the municipalities of

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

and

Vennesla Vennesla is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Venn ...

in an area that was historically a part of the former

Oddernes Oddernes is a List of boroughs of Kristiansand, borough in the Kristiansand (town), city of Kristiansand which lies in the municipality of Kristiansand in Agder county, Norway. The borough covers eastern Kristiansand on the east side of the Topda ...

municipality. Today it includes areas north of the city center of

on both riverbanks of the river

Otra The Otra is the largest river in the Sørlandet region of Norway. It begins in Setesdalsheiene mountains at the lake Breidvatnet in Bykle municipality in Agder county, just south of the border with Vinje municipality in Telemark county. The r ...

. The local name Torridalselva (meaning ''Torridal river'') is commonly used for the river's lower course from Mosby to the sea. Torridal kirke

The valley includes the areas of Sødal, Skråstad, Lian, Hagen, and Glattetre on the east side of the river and

Strai Strai is a village and a district in the municipality of Kristiansand in Agder, Norway. It is located in the borough of Grim. Its population (2014) is about 1,000. The district of Mosby lies to the north, the districts of Lund, Kvadraturen, and ...

, Hommeren, Aukland, Mosby, and Høie on the west side. The districts of Espestøl, Hemmes, Mestad, Aurebekk, Rypestøl, and Kulia are also part of the valley, although they don't lie directly along the river. The Mosby and Strai areas are fairly densely populated, and the

Torridal Church Torridal Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kristiansand Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of Aukland, just south of the village of Mosby and just north of the village of Strai, on the west s ...

lies between those two villages. The Torridal sporting venue has facilities outdoors and indoors in Torridalshallen.

Norwegian National Road 9 Norwegian National Road 9 (, ) is often called the ''Setesdal Road'' () and it is the main thoroughfare through the Setesdalen valley. It runs from the city of Kristiansand in the southern coast of Norway, through the Torridal and Setesdal v ...

(Setesdalsveien) and the

Sørlandet Line The Sørlandet Line () is a railway line between Drammen (though this is connected to Oslo by means of the Drammen Line) via Kristiansand to Stavanger. The line is long between Oslo and Stavanger. History The railway was constructed in several ...

both run along the west side of the river Otra, through the Torridal valley. Norwegian County Road 1 ("Sødalssida") runs along the east bank of Otra.

References

Valleys of Agder Geography of Kristiansand Vennesla {{Agder-geo-stub