Femunden is Norway's third largest lake and the second largest natural lake in Norway. It is located in Innlandet and Trøndelag counties in Norway, just 13 km (8.1 mi) west of the border with Sweden. The lake lies primarily in the municipality of Engerdal (in Innlandet) and also smaller parts are located in the municipalities of Os (Innlandet) and Røros (Trøndelag). Femundsmarka National Park borders the northeastern part of the lake.[1]

Femund / Femunden
Femund / Femunden is located in Innlandet
Femund / Femunden
Femund / Femunden
Location of the lake
Femund / Femunden is located in Trøndelag
Femund / Femunden
Femund / Femunden
Femund / Femunden (Trøndelag)
Femund / Femunden is located in Norway
Femund / Femunden
Femund / Femunden
Femund / Femunden (Norway)
LocationInnlandet and Trøndelag
Coordinates62°12′N 11°52′E / 62.200°N 11.867°E / 62.200; 11.867
Typeglacier mountain lake
Primary outflowsGløta
Catchment area1,793.94 km2 (692.64 sq mi)
Basin countriesNorway
Max. length60 km (37 mi)
Max. width9 km (5.6 mi)
Surface area203.4 km2 (78.5 sq mi)
Average depth29.5 m (97 ft)
Max. depth150 m (490 ft)
Water volume6.04 km3 (1.45 cu mi)
Shore length1234.92 km (145.97 mi)
Surface elevation662 m (2,172 ft)
IslandsStore Sollerøya
ReferencesNVE
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.
Map of Femund

The 203.4-square-kilometre (78.5 sq mi) lake holds about 6 km3 (1.4 cu mi) of water and reaches a maximum depth of 150 m (490 ft). The surface of the lake sits about 662 m (2,172 ft) above sea level.

Name

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The first element (Fe- or Fem-) has no known meaning, and the last element is the suffix -mund or -und (both are common in Norwegian place names).[1]

History

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After Sweden had conquered the parishes of Idre and Särna in 1644 lake Femunden was considered to be part of the border between Norway and Sweden. But this was never officially recognised by Norway (or in reality by the Danish government, since Norway was ruled from Copenhagen in the early modern age), and during border adjustments in 1751 the Femundsmarka area east of the lake was granted to Norway from Sweden. The new (and current) border from 1751 is quite special: For a length of 61 kilometres (38 mi), it makes a completely straight line between the summits of the 1,002-metre (3,287 ft) tall mountain Våndsjögusten and the 1,185-metre (3,888 ft) tall mountain Østerhogna. Straight-line national borders are very unusual in Scandinavia, except in the very northernmost parts.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Store norske leksikon. "Femunden" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2011-02-25.
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