The Pite River is a river in northern Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, flowing through the Norrbotten County

Norrbotten County

Norrbotten County is the northernmost county or län of Sweden. It borders Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf of Bothnia to the southeast. It also borders the counties of Nordland and Troms in Norway to the northwest, and Lapland Province in Finland to the northeast.The name...

. It is one of the four major rivers in Norrland

Norrland

Norrland is one of the three lands of Sweden , the northern part, consisting of nine provinces. The term Norrland is not used for any administrative purpose, but it is common in everyday language, e.g...

 that have been left mostly untouched by water power plants, the river has a single dam at Sikfors approximately 15 km upstream from the sea.

It starts in the large lakes in eastern Sweden, such as Tjeggelvas, Vuolvojaure and Labbas, in Jokkmokk Municipality

Jokkmokk Municipality

Jokkmokk Municipality is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Jokkmokk.The name Jokkmokk is Sami for the words "river" and "bend", since the town is situated close to a bend in the nearby river....

, and flows to the east coast, discharging in the Gulf of Bothnia

Gulf of Bothnia

The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea.-Name:...

, in the Piteå Municipality

Piteå Municipality

Piteå Municipality is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Piteå.-Localities:There are 14 localities in Piteå Municipality:The municipal seat in bold-Sister cities:...

.

It has a length of 400 kilometers, covering an area of 11,200km².

Its largest waterfall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

 is Storforsen

Storforsen

Storforsen, a rapid in the Pite River in Swedish Norrbottens län is located approximately 38 km northwest of Älvsbyn. With an average flow of 250 m3/s, the rapids are one of the biggest in Europe. The rapids stretch out over a distance of 5 km in which the riverbed is lowered by 82...

, which has also become the most popular place to visit in Norrbotten. It is located in Älvsbyn Municipality

Älvsbyn Municipality

Älvsbyn Municipality is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Älvsbyn.The present municipality has the same size as the original one, created at the time the municipalities of Sweden were formed in 1863...

.

See also

Some of the other large Norrland rivers:

• Kalix River
  Kalix River
  The Kalix River is one of the four major rivers of Norrland, northern Sweden, that are untouched by water power...
  
  
• Torne River
  Torne River
  The Torne River , is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. Approximately half of the river's length is a part of the border between these two countries. It rises at Lake Torne near the border with Norway and flows generally southeast for a distance of into the Gulf of Bothnia...
  
  
• Lule River
  Lule River
  Lule River is a major river in Sweden, rising in northern Sweden and flowing southeast for before reaching the Gulf of Bothnia at Luleå. It is the second longest river by watershed area or length in Norrbotten County , but is the largest by average discharge.It has a watershed of 25,240.5 km² of...
  
  
• Ume River
  Ume River
  The Ume River is one of the main rivers in northern Sweden. It is around long, and flows in a south-eastern direction from its source, the lake Överuman by the Norwegian border within the Scandinavian mountain range. For large parts, the European route E12, also known as Blå Vägen , follows its...
  
  
• Skellefte River
  Skellefte River
  The Skellefte River is a river in northern Sweden; one of the major Norrland rivers..Geographically, it starts in the Norrbotten County, also known as the Swedish Lappland province where it drains the lakes Hornavan, Uddjaur and Storavan near Arjeplog; then goes south-east into Västerbotten...
  
  
• Angerman River
  Ångerman River
  The Ångerman River is one of Sweden's longest rivers with a total length of 460 kilometers. It also has the largest amount of water running through it....