There are at least 450,000 freshwater lakes in Norway. Most were created by glacial erosion.
Various Sami and Norwegian language terms distinguish different types of lake, and often feature in place names:
Fewer than 400 of Norway's lakes have an area of more than 5 square kilometres (1.9 sq mi).
The following list shows the top ten lakes in Norway in terms of surface area. Dams and reservoirs with regulation height over; 15 metres are not included.[2]
No. | Name | County | Area (km2) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Mjøsa | Innlandet, Viken | 369.48 |
2 | Røssvatnet | Nordland | 218.61 |
3 | Femund | Innlandet, Trøndelag | 203.40 |
4 | Randsfjorden | Innlandet | 140.69 |
5 | Tyrifjorden | Viken | 138.56 |
6 | Snåsavatnet | Trøndelag | 125.73 |
7 | Tunnsjøen | Trøndelag | 100.18 |
8 | Limingen | Trøndelag | 93.27 |
9 | Øyeren | Viken | 84.74 |
10 | Nisser | Vestfold and Telemark | 76.07 |
Europe's four deepest lakes are in Norway, namely Hornindalsvatnet, Salvatnet, Lake Tinn and Mjøsa. The following list includes the lakes in Norway, with a known depth over 200 metres.[2]
No. | Name | County | Maximum depth (m) |
Average depth (m) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hornindalsvatnet | Vestland | 514 | 237 |
2 | Salvatnet | Trøndelag | 482* | 155 |
3 | Lake Tinn | Vestfold and Telemark | 460 | 190 |
4 | Mjøsa | Innlandet and Viken | 453 | 150 |
5 | Fyresvatnet | Vestfold and Telemark | 377 | 120 |
6 | Suldalsvatnet | Rogaland | 376 | 156 |
7 | Øvervatnet (in Fauske) | Nordland | 346 | N/D |
8 | Bandak | Vestfold and Telemark | 325 | 121 |
9 | Lundevatnet | Rogaland and Agder | 314 | 172 |
10 | Storsjøen (in Rendalen) | Innlandet | 309 | 139 |
11 | Totak | Vestfold and Telemark | 306 | 63 |
12 | Tyrifjorden | Viken | 295 | 95 |
13 | Breimsvatnet | Vestland | 278 | 129 |
14 | Ørsdalsvatnet | Rogaland | 243 | 137 |
15 | Røssvatnet | Nordland | 240 | 68 |
16 | Nisser | Vestfold and Telemark | 234 | 93 |
17 | Jølstravatnet | Vestland | 233 | 89 |
18 | Oppstrynsvatnet | Vestland | 230 | 131 |
19 | Tunnsjøen | Trøndelag | 222 | 88 |
20 | Dingevatnet | Vestland | 220 | 88 |
21 | Bygdin | Innlandet | 215 | N/D |
22 | Selbusjøen | Trøndelag | 206 | 70 |
23 | Kviteseidvatnet | Vestfold and Telemark | 201 | 93 |
* Sources provide both 464 m (manual method) & 482 m (echo sounding) for the greatest depth.