Randsfjorden
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| Randsfjorden | |
|---|---|
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| Location | Oppland |
| Coordinates | |
| Primary outflows | Randselva |
| Basin countries | Norway |
| Surface area | 139.23 km² |
| Max. depth | 120 m |
| Water volume | 7.31 km³ |
| Shore length1 | 202.98 km |
| Surface elevation | 135 m |
| References | NVE |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Randsfjorden is Norway's fourth largest lake with an area of 138 km². Its volume is estimated at just over 7 km³, and its greatest depth is 120 meters. The lake is 135 meters above sea level. It is located in the county of Oppland and borders the municipalities of Gran, Jevnaker, Nordre Land, and Søndre Land in the districts of Land and Hadeland. It is drained by the Randselva river. Although the term fjord usually describes a saltwater inlet, Randsfjorden is actually a fresh water lake with a narrow shape, approximately aligned on a north-south axis.
The Icelandic chronicler Snorri Sturluson recorded that Halfdan the Black, father of the first King of Norway, journeyed over the lake while returning home from a visit to Hadeland. Travelling with a horse and sleigh while the lake was frozen, he fell through the ice (which had been weakened by cattle dung after a watering hole had been dug on the lake) and drowned.
In modern times, many golf courses have been set up on the edge of the lake.
[edit] The name
The Old Norse form of the name was just Rönd, derived from the word rönd f 'stripe, edge' (referring to the long and narrow form of the lake). The last element -fjorden (the finite form of fjord) is a later addition - first recorded in 1691.
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