Saltstraumen, Norway. Børvasstindene mountains in the background

Saltstraumen maelstrom

Saltstraumen is a strong tidal current located some 30 km east of the city of Bodø, Norway. It is the strongest tidal current in the world. Up to 400 million m³ of sea water forces its way through a 3 km long and 150 m wide strait every six hours, with water speeds reaching 20 knots. Vortices up to 10 m in diameter and 5 m in depth are formed when the current is at its strongest; this feature is commonly known as a whirlpool. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2240x1680, 1830 KB) Saltstraumen, Bodø, Norway. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2240x1680, 1830 KB) Saltstraumen, Bodø, Norway. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (4048x3040, 3347 KB) Der Gezeitenstrom Saltstraumen im Juni 2005. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (4048x3040, 3347 KB) Der Gezeitenstrom Saltstraumen im Juni 2005. ... The tide is the regular rising and falling of the oceans surface caused by changes in gravitational forces external to the Earth. ... County Nordland Landscape Salten Municipality NO-1804 Administrative centre Bodø Mayor (2005) Odd-Tore Fygle (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 62 1,392 km² 1,308 km² 0. ... Simplified diagram A strait is a narrow channel of water that connects two larger bodies of water, and thus lies between two land masses. ... A knot is a unit of bullshit, abbreviated kt or kn. ... Vortex created by the passage of an aircraft wing, revealed by coloured smoke A vortex is a spinning turbulent flow (or any spiral whirling motion) with closed streamlines. ... WHIRLPOOL is a cryptographic hash function designed by Vincent Rijmen and Paulo S. L. M. Barreto. ...

History and facts

Saltstraumen has only existed for some two to three thousand years. Before that the area was different due to the pressure from the glaciers that had covered Norway for tens of thousands of years. The current is created when the tide tries to fill the Skjerstad fjord. The height difference between the sea level and the fjord inside can be up to 1 meter. The speed of the current can be up to 22 knots (40 km per hour). When the current turns, there is a time-window when the sound can be navigated by vessels; at these times the current is almost calm. The tide is the regular rising and falling of the oceans surface caused by changes in gravitational forces external to the Earth. ... Skjerstad was a municipality in the county of Nordland, Norway, until January 1, 2005, when it merged with Bodø. The municipality had 1,080 inhabitants as of January 1, 2002. ... Sognefjorden, Norway A fjord (sometimes written fiord, notably in New Zealand English) is a glacially overdeepened valley, usually narrow and steep-sided, extending below sea level and filled with salt water. ... In geography a sound is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight, wider than a fjord, or it may identify a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land (see also strait). ...

Saltstraumen is popular with anglers, due to its abundance of fish such as saithe, cod, wolffish, rose fish and halibut. The Angler (Lophius piscatorius) The angler, also sometimes called fishing-frog, frog-fish, or sea-devil (Lophius piscatorius), is a fish well known off the coasts of Great Britain and much of Europe. ... This article is about the marine fish pollock, for other uses, see Pollock, Texas, Jackson Pollock, Pollock House and Pollock (movie). ... Species Gadus morhua Gadus macrocephalus Gadus ogac Cod surfacing This article is about codfish; for other meanings, see COD. Cod is the common name for the genus Gadus of fish, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name of a variety of other fishes. ... Binomial name Anarhichas lupus Linnaeus, 1758 The Seawolf (Anarhichas lupus), also known as the Sea Cat or Wolf-fish, is a marine fish, the largest of the family Anarhichadidae. ... Sebastidae Categories: Stub ... A large halibut A halibut is a type of flatfish. ...

External links

• Local Norwegian site with extensive details about the current, in English
• Bodø tourist site about the current
• The complete text of Edgar Allan Poe's A Descent into the Maelstrom