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River

Österdal River

300 km from source to mouth · Sweden.

SwedenSwedenFlows into Dalälven

Follow the riverMonth by month

SourceMouth
The river and every tributary in its basin, drawn from RiverATLAS (CC BY 4.0).

In numbers

Length

300km

Average flow

150m³/s

Basin

12,430km²

Drop

505m

from 646 m to 141 m

Country

1

The journey

From source to mouth

300 km of river and 35 stops on the way: 3 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.

646 m141 m
Sourceat 646 m0 km
Storbosjön3.0 km²21 km
Gösjön0.3 km²65 km
Älvrosfjorden0.9 km²69 km
Storgeten0.7 km²109 km
Trängseldammen36 km²141 km
Åsdammen, Dalarna2.3 km²156 km
Väsadammen1.8 km²183 km
Spjutmosjön5.9 km²201 km
Siljan291 km²264 km
Dalälvenat 141 m300 km
0100200300 km
  1. 0 kmSourceat 646 m
  2. 2 kmDrevsjøen0.9 km²
  3. 11 kmVurrusjøen5.0 km²
  4. 15 kmFlötningssjön2.3 km²
  5. 21 kmStorbosjön3.0 km²
  6. 35 kmStorhån0.5 km²
  7. 41 kmHösthån1.2 km²
  8. 65 kmGösjön0.3 km²
  9. 69 kmÄlvrosfjorden0.9 km²
  10. 72 kmKringelsfjorden1.1 km²
  11. 77 kmHolmtjärnen0.5 km²
  12. 80 kmHedarfjorden2.5 km²
  13. 95 kmMaktjärnen5.6 km²
  14. 109 kmStorgeten0.7 km²
  15. 141 kmTrängseldammen36 km²
  16. 144 kmTrängslet Dam
  17. 156 kmÅsdammen, Dalarna2.3 km²
  18. 156 kmÅsen dam
  19. 158 kmLill-Ugsi0.7 km²
  20. 173 kmNässjön1.9 km²
  21. 183 kmVäsadammen1.8 km²
  22. 188 kmBlybergsdammen0.4 km²
  23. 191 kmOxbergssjön1.1 km²
  24. 201 kmSpjutmosjön5.9 km²
  25. 205 kmLädsjön0.4 km²
  26. 206 kmSästjärnen0.6 km²
  27. 218 kmOrsa Lake52 km²
  28. 218 kmMora12,602 people
  29. 264 kmSiljan291 km²
  30. 264 kmLeksandsbron
  31. 264 kmLeksand6,107 people
  32. 265 kmLimsjön0.9 km²
  33. 269 kmSmedby3,530 people
  34. 272 kmTunsta railway bridge
  35. 272 kmInsjön7.5 km²
  36. 286 kmMojesjön0.4 km²
  37. 300 kmDalälvenat 141 m

Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.

River in Sweden

At the mouth it carries 146 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 17 seconds. It drops from 646 m to 141 m, 1.7 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 12,430 km², about the size of QA. 43,000 people live in it. Highest water, with the snowmelt: from April to June; lowest: from December to March. Dams and reservoirs hold back a large share of its water (19% of a year's flow).

Read more on Wikipedia

Where to start

  • MoraLargest city on its banks · 12,602 people
  • Mora Airport (MXX)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 6 km from the cityCar hire at MXX airport (Mora)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • On the water21 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
  • Kayak and canoe3 put-ins and rapids mapped (OpenStreetMap)
  • From June to AugustThe best months to visit

Österdal River, month by month

Highest water: from April to June

Lowest water: from December to March. Freezing months (average below −4 °C): from December to February. Melting snow makes up much of its water. Best months to visit: from June to August.

100
-8°40 mmJan
100
-7°30 mmFeb
100
-3°30 mmMar
170
2°39 mmApr
170
8°46 mmMay
160
13°70 mmJun
130
15°88 mmJul
140
13°81 mmAug
140
9°71 mmSep
140
4°55 mmOct
120
-2°54 mmNov
110
-6°46 mmDec
Water (estimated flow)Air (average) Rain (mm)Best months

From about 100 m³/s in the lowest month to 170 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.

Plan the trip

Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The basin

Österdal River: the basin in numbers

12,549 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.

Heavily regulatedReservoirs can hold 19% of a year's flow: dams shape its seasons.
  • 43,000people live in the basin
  • 4/km²people per km²
  • 478maverage altitude of the basin
  • 664mmof rain a year (basin average)
  • 2.3°Caverage air temperature
  • 16%protected areas
  • 5.6%covered by lakes
  • 0.9km³held in reservoirs

What covers the basin

  • 84% Forest

RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.

Along the river

Österdal River: what you find on the way

  • 19DamsHösthån (damm), Åsen (damm), Skinnarbackkvarnen and 16 more
  • 9Weirs
  • 6WaterfallsFjätfallet Övre, Fjätfallet Nedre, Brudslöjefallet and 3 more
  • 3RapidsDjurforsen
  • 11Boat ramps
  • 2Ferry piers
  • 8MarinasÖna marina, Sanda Båthamn, Färnäs båtklubb and 5 more
  • 27River beachesStranda på Drevsjø, Idre badplats, badplats Skepphusviken, Moraparken and 24 more

From OpenStreetMap, within 1.9 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Österdal River in our other atlases

What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.

  • 28lakes on its wayLakeyas
  • 79mountains at the sourcePeakyas

Lakes and reservoirs (28)

Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas

  1. Vurrusjøenkm 105.0km²
  2. Flötningssjönkm 152.3km²
  3. Trängseldammenkm 13536km²
  4. Åsdammen, Dalarnakm 1502.3km²
  5. Spjutmosjönkm 1935.9km²
  6. Orsa Lakekm 210 · 94 m deep52km²
  7. Siljankm 254 · 120 m deep291km²
  8. Insjönkm 261 · 18 m deep7.5km²

20 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

Mountains at the source (79)

Within 15 km of the source, by Peakyas

  1. Kvitvola13 km away1,154m
  2. Svarthammaren12 km away1,142m
  3. Nordre Kvitvolaknappen13 km away1,088m
  4. Kvitvordaknappen14 km away1,060m
  5. Galtåsknappen9.0 km away890m
  6. Luvhøa13 km away880m
  7. Divelia11 km away
  8. Syringslia12 km away

71 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗

From space

The source and the mouth, seen from orbit

Österdal River: satellite view of the source
The source14 km across
Österdal River: satellite view of the mouth
The mouth15 km across

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.

Photos

Österdal River in pictures

Leksand Österdalälven båt
Edaen · CC BY 2.0
Österdalälven -1
LG Nyqvist · CC BY-SA 4.0
Österdalälven -2
LG Nyqvist · CC BY-SA 4.0
Österdalälven 2022
Marcus.linneberg · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tributaries

Where it flows, and what flows into it

Tributaries (3)

Also: Rotnen, Fjätan, Dysån

Where these numbers come from

Name, length, placesWikidata (Q298372) · CC0
Course, profile, basinRiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed along the river network from the point given by Wikidata
FlowWaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Climate along the riverWorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Towns, bridges, damsWikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Along the river© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Our other atlasesLakeyas, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every source and licence is on the data sources page.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit