Storforsen
Encyclopedia
Rapid
A rapid is a section of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. A rapid is a hydrological feature between a run and a cascade. A rapid is characterised by the river becoming shallower and having some rocks exposed above the...
in the Pite River
Pite River
The Pite River is a river in northern Sweden, flowing through the Norrbotten County. It is one of the four major rivers in Norrland 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...
in Swedish Norrbottens län is located approximately 38 km northwest of Älvsbyn
Älvsbyn
Älvsbyn is a locality and the seat of Älvsbyn Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 5,042 inhabitants in 2005.Älvsbyn has a railway station that is served by trains running between Boden and Stockholm along the Swedish east coast. It also features a Youth Hostel with a small recreational...
. With an average flow of 250 m3/s, the rapids are one of the biggest in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The rapids stretch out over a distance of 5 km in which the riverbed is lowered by 82 metres.
Flow usually is highest at midsummer
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
: 870 m3/s. During the floodyear 1995 a total of 1200 cubic metres flowed down Storforsen each second.
To prevent accidents the rocks surrounding the rapids are fenced, views being readily accessible to the public via ramps. While the rapids were used in previous years to transport logs, today its surroundings are part of a nature park, visited by 150,000 people each year.