Randsfjorden

Randsfjorden is Norway's fourth-largest lake with an area of 140.7 km2 (54.3 sq mi). Its volume is estimated at just over 7 km3 (1.7 cu mi), and its greatest depth is 131 m (430 ft). The lake is located at an elevation of 135 m (443 ft) above sea level. It is located in Innlandet and Viken counties in the municipalities of Gran, Jevnaker, Nordre Land, and Søndre Land in the districts of Land and Hadeland. It is drained by the Randselva river.

Randsfjorden
Looking south from Grimsrud
Randsfjorden is located in Innlandet
Randsfjorden
Randsfjorden
Location of the lake
Randsfjorden is located in Viken (county)
Randsfjorden
Randsfjorden
Randsfjorden (Viken (county))
Randsfjorden is located in Norway
Randsfjorden
Randsfjorden
Randsfjorden (Norway)
LocationInnlandet and Viken
Coordinates60°23′25″N 10°23′39″E
Primary inflowsDokka and Etna
Primary outflowsRandselva
Basin countriesNorway
Max. length74.5 kilometres (46.3 mi)
Max. width4 kilometres (2.5 mi)
Surface area140.7 km2 (54.3 sq mi)
Max. depth131 metres (430 ft)
Water volume7.31 cubic kilometres (1.75 cu mi)
Shore length1203 kilometres (126 mi)
Surface elevation135 metres (443 ft)
ReferencesNVE[1]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

In Heimskringla, Snorri Sturluson recorded that Halfdan the Black (Halvdan Svarte), father of Harald Hårfagre, the first King of Norway, journeyed over the lake while returning home from a visit to Hadeland. Traveling with a horse and sleigh while the lake was supposedly frozen, he fell through the ice and drowned.[2]

View northwards from Jevnaker

In modern times, many golf courses have been set up on the edge of the lake. The Tangen–Horn ferry runs between Horn on the east bank and Tangen on the west, which is Norway's last remaining and regularly operating car ferry connection on an inland lake. The sightseeing boat MS Kong Haud sails on the Randsfjorden from Jevnaker to Odnes.[3]

Name

The Old Norse form of the name was just Rǫnd, derived from the word rǫnd which means "stripe" or "edge" (referring to the long and narrow form of the lake). The last element -fjorden (the finite form of fjord) is a later addition to the name that was first recorded in 1691. Although the term "fjord" usually describes a saltwater inlet that is connected to the ocean, the Randsfjorden is actually a freshwater lake with a narrow shape, approximately aligned on a north–south axis.[4]

See also

References
  1. "Innsjødatabase". NVE.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  2. Claus Krag. "Halvdan Svarte". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  3. "MS Kong Haud". hadeland.no. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  4. "Randsfjorden". Innovation Norway. Retrieved 1 September 2017.


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