
Location of Torne River
The 'Torne River' (
Finnish: ''Tornionjoki'',
Swedish: ''Torne älv'', ''Torneälven'',
Northern Sami: ''Duortneseatnu'',
Meankieli: ''Tornionväyla''), is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. Approximately a half of the river's length is a part of the border between these two countries. It rises at
Lake Torne (Swedish: ''Torneträsk'') near the border with
Norway and flows generally southeast for a distance of 522 km (324 miles) into the
Gulf of Bothnia. It is the largest river in
Norrbotten both by length and by watershed area.
In the
Treaty of Fredrikshamn in
1809, when Sweden lost the areas which constitute present-day Finland to
Imperial Russia, the river was together with
Muonio River and
Könkämä River chosen as border between Sweden and the new Russian
Grand Duchy of Finland, thus splitting the
provinces of
Lappland and
Västerbotten.
Cities on the Torne River often have both
Swedish and
Finnish names, like
Haparanda (from Finnish ''Haaparanta'', "Aspen Shore") and
Tornio (from Swedish ''Torneå'').
Other major (>100 km long) rivers in the Swedish part of the watershed of the Torne are:
Lainio River,
Muonio River,
Rautas River,
Tengeliön River,
Vittangia River. The
Tärendö River is a
bifurcation flowing into the
Kalix River near
Junosuando
See also
★
Torne Valley