Gjende
Gjende or Gjendin is a lake in Vågå Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Jotunheimen mountain range and also inside Jotunheimen National Park. The proglacial lake shows typical characteristics of glacial formation, being long and narrow, with steep walls. The lake is 18 kilometres (11 mi) in length and only 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) in width at the broadest point. Gjende has a characteristic light-green color resulting from the large quantity of rock flour which is discharged into the Gjende by the Muru river. The river Sjoa provides the outlet from Gjende at Gjendesheim, and flows eastward into the Gudbrandsdalslågen river.
| Gjende | |
|---|---|
Lake Gjende to the left, as seen from Besseggen, looking in the direction of Memurubu and Gjendebu. Lake Bessvatnet to the right. | |
Gjende Location of the lake Gjende Gjende (Norway) | |
| Location | Vågå Municipality, Innlandet |
| Coordinates | 61°29′22″N 08°40′48″E |
| Type | glacier mountain lake |
| Primary inflows | River Muru |
| Primary outflows | River Sjoa |
| Basin countries | Norway |
| Max. length | 18 km (11 mi) |
| Max. width | 1.5 km (0.93 mi) |
| Surface area | 15.64 km2 (6.04 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 64 m (210 ft) |
| Max. depth | 149 m (489 ft) |
| Water volume | 1 km3 (0.24 cu mi) |
| Shore length1 | 40.32 km (25.05 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 983.7 m (3,227 ft) |
| References | NVE |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Gjende lies in the middle of Jotunheimen National Park and both to the north and south of the lake lie peaks with elevations reaching greater than 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). There are numerous staffed tourist cabins maintained by the Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT); in the west end lies Gjendebu, on the north side lies Memurubu and on the east end lies Gjendesheim. In the summer boats provide transport between these locations.