| Randsfjorden | |
|---|---|
| Looking south from Grimsrud | |
| Location | Oppland |
| 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 (53 sq mi). Its volume is estimated at just over 7 km3 (1.7 cu mi), and its greatest depth is 120 metres (390 ft). The lake is 135 metres (443 ft) 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. There is a car ferry connection between Horn on the east side and Tangen on the west, which is Norway's last remaining and regularly operating car ferry connection on an inland lake.
The Old Norse form of the name was just Rǫnd, derived from the word rǫnd 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.