Namsen
Template:Short description Template:Infobox river
Template:Native name or Template:Native name<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is one of the longest rivers in Trøndelag county, in the central part of Norway. The Template:Convert long river flows through the municipalities of Røyrvik, Namsskogan, Grong, Overhalla, and Namsos before emptying into the Namsenfjorden. The river is the namesake for the whole Namdalen region. The river traditionally has been used for floating timber down from the forests to the town of Namsos, where the sawmills were located. Today, parts of the Namsen are regulated by several dams.<ref name="snl" />
LocationEdit
The river begins in springs in Børgefjell National Park, just over the border in Nordland county. This water feeds the large lake Namsvatnet. The Namsen river itself starts when the water passes through the dam on the northwest side of the lake Namsvatnet in Røyrvik Municipality.
The river then travels through the Namdalen valley towards the coast, ending at the town of Namsos where it flows into the Namsenfjorden, the same fjord into which the smaller river Årgårdselva flows. There are two major tributaries to the Namsen: Tunnsjøelva and Sanddøla.<ref name="VN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The total watershed is approximately Template:Convert and at Namsos, the water discharges into the fjord at about Template:Convert.<ref name="snl">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
FishingEdit
The Namsen is considered one of the best Atlantic Salmon fishing rivers in the world, and is often called the "Queen of Rivers". Beginning in the 19th century, the British found the Atlantic salmon fishing to be excellent here, and the river became a major tourist attraction. Catches above Template:Convert are not unusual. The Namsen is a wide river and is thus often fished from small boats using a method called "harling". This method consists of trolling a lure while the boat moves slowly from bank to bank and drifting downstream. Thus, the salmon meet the lure as they swim upstream.<ref name="VN" />