Namsen
River in Trøndelag, Norway
title: "Namsen" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-trøndelag", "namsos-municipality", "overhalla-municipality", "grong-municipality", "namsskogan-municipality", "røyrvik-municipality", "rivers-of-norway"] description: "River in Trøndelag, Norway" topic_path: "geography/norway" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namsen" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary River in Trøndelag, Norway ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | no |
| sma | |
| image | Namsen sett fra Kvatningenfjell, Namsos i bakgrunnen.jpg |
| image_caption | View from Kvatningfjell, near Namsos |
| mapframe | yes |
| mapframe-zoom | 7 |
| mapframe-caption | Interactive map of the river |
| subdivision_type1 | Country |
| subdivision_name1 | Norway |
| subdivision_type2 | County |
| subdivision_name2 | Trøndelag |
| subdivision_type3 | District |
| subdivision_name3 | Namdalen |
| subdivision_type4 | Municipalities |
| subdivision_name4 | Namsos, Overhalla, Grong, Namsskogan, Røyrvik |
| length | 228 km |
| discharge1_avg | 285 m3/s |
| source1 | Namsvatnet |
| source1_location | Røyrvik Municipality, Norway |
| source1_coordinates | |
| source1_elevation | 455 m |
| mouth | Namsenfjorden |
| mouth_location | Namsos, Norway |
| mouth_coordinates | |
| mouth_elevation | 0 m |
| river_system | Namsenvassdraget |
| basin_size | 6298 km2 |
| tributaries_left | Tunnsjøelva, Sanddøla |
| :: |
|name = no sma |native_name = |native_name_lang = |name_other = |etymology = |image = Namsen sett fra Kvatningenfjell, Namsos i bakgrunnen.jpg |image_size = |image_caption = View from Kvatningfjell, near Namsos | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 7 | mapframe-caption = Interactive map of the river |subdivision_type1 = Country |subdivision_name1 = Norway |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = Trøndelag |subdivision_type3 = District |subdivision_name3 = Namdalen |subdivision_type4 = Municipalities |subdivision_name4 = Namsos, Overhalla, Grong, Namsskogan, Røyrvik |length = 228 km |width_min = |width_avg = |width_max = |depth_min = |depth_avg = |depth_max = |discharge1_location = |discharge1_min = |discharge1_avg = 285 m3/s |discharge1_max = |source1 = Namsvatnet |source1_location = Røyrvik Municipality, Norway |source1_coordinates = |source1_elevation = 455 m |mouth = Namsenfjorden |mouth_location = Namsos, Norway |mouth_coordinates = |mouth_elevation = 0 m |progression = |river_system = Namsenvassdraget |basin_size = 6298 km2 |basin_landmarks = |basin_population = |tributaries_left = Tunnsjøelva, Sanddøla |tributaries_right = |waterbodies = |waterfalls = |bridges = |ports =
no or sma is one of the longest rivers in Trøndelag county, in the central part of Norway. The 228 km long river flows through the municipalities of Røyrvik, Namsskogan, Grong, Overhalla, and Namsos before emptying into the Namsenfjorden. The river is the namesake for the whole Namdalen region. The river traditionally has been used for floating timber down from the forests to the town of Namsos, where the sawmills were located. Today, parts of the Namsen are regulated by several dams.
Location
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Namsen.jpg" caption="Sunset at Namsen"] ::
The river begins in springs in Børgefjell National Park, just over the border in Nordland county. This water feeds the large lake Namsvatnet. The Namsen river itself starts when the water passes through the dam on the northwest side of the lake Namsvatnet in Røyrvik Municipality.
The river then travels through the Namdalen valley towards the coast, ending at the town of Namsos where it flows into the Namsenfjorden, the same fjord into which the smaller river Årgårdselva flows. There are two major tributaries to the Namsen: Tunnsjøelva and Sanddøla.
The total watershed is approximately 6298 km2 and at Namsos, the water discharges into the fjord at about 285 m3/s.
Fishing
The Namsen is considered one of the best Atlantic Salmon fishing rivers in the world, and is often called the "Queen of Rivers". Beginning in the 19th century, the British found the Atlantic salmon fishing to be excellent here, and the river became a major tourist attraction. Catches above 23 kg are not unusual. The Namsen is a wide river and is thus often fished from small boats using a method called "harling". This method consists of trolling a lure while the boat moves slowly from bank to bank and drifting downstream. Thus, the salmon meet the lure as they swim upstream.
References
References
- "Informasjon om stadnamn". [[Norwegian Mapping Authority.
- "The Namsen River". VisitNorway.com.
- (2017-12-11). "Namsen". [[Kunnskapsforlaget]].
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::