Skjern River (Danish: Skjern Å) is the largest river in Denmark, in terms of volume. The river has its spring in Tinnet Krat in central Jutland, very close to Denmark's longest river, the Gudenå. It drains about one tenth of Denmark and flows into the Ringkøbing Fjord - a lagoon and former bay of the North Sea. The river has its name from town of Skjern, located at the river delta (the only river delta in the country) at Ringkøbing Fjord. In flood stage, it can discharge up to 200 m³/s.
In the 1960s, the Danish government began straightening the rivers run and drain the extensive wetlands that had formed around the river mouth, to prevent the frequent floodings and allow for intensive farming in the region. However, the plan backfired. Without the frequent sediment deposits supplied by floodings, increasing amounts of chemical fertilizers and nutrients were needed to sustain a productive agriculture and the river, unable to spread the sediment across a wide wetland, silted up in many places. Furthermore, the land began to sink as it dried out and ceased to be replenished with fresh sediment. The slow sinking of the land, made the drainage infrastructure increasingly ineffective.
By 1987, the government decided to implement a program of land rehabilitation to restore the river to a more natural state. Though the plan was not completed and approved until 1997, by 2002, the work was mostly completed. Much of the river and wetland are now protected area, home to a variety of wildlife, including otters, Atlantic salmon and a variety of waterbirds. Tourism and traditional cattlegrazing, have replaced the intensive agriculture as the primary economic use of the land.
The restored Skjern River and surrounding delta was supposed to be incorporated in the Skjern Å National Park, comprising a 248.7-hectare (615-acre) area, but the national park project was abandoned in 2012.[1] The national park process however, had already advanced to the level of establishing walking paths and facilities for visitors at that point and on 21 September 2014, two local citizens groups, involving nine towns and villages, unofficially opened Skjern Å National Park.[2]
^Nationalpark Skjern Å opgivet 2017-03-02 at the Wayback Machine
^Nationalpark Skjern Å åbnede d. 21.september 2014
SourcesEdit
Ecological Engineering 2007 (Morten Lauge Pedersen et al.): Restoration of Skjern River and its valley—Short-term effects on river habitats, macrophytes and macroinvertebrates Department of Freshwater Ecology, National Environmental Research Institute.
External linksEdit
Map of the river delta
Sense the West Coast: Skjern Å - A Unique Piece of Nature Info-page on nature- and tourists experiences in the river delta.
Skjern Å - The river of Westernjutland, visited 20.01.2015, (in Danish)
The River Restoration Center article on the Skjern
skjern, river, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2020. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Skjern River news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Skjern River Danish Skjern A is the largest river in Denmark in terms of volume The river has its spring in Tinnet Krat in central Jutland very close to Denmark s longest river the Gudena It drains about one tenth of Denmark and flows into the Ringkobing Fjord a lagoon and former bay of the North Sea The river has its name from town of Skjern located at the river delta the only river delta in the country at Ringkobing Fjord In flood stage it can discharge up to 200 m s Skjern RiverThe source of the Skjern River Native nameSkjern A Danish LocationCountryDenmarkRegionJutlandDistrictCentral Denmark RegionPhysical characteristicsSourceTinnet Krat elevation70 m 230 ft MouthRingkobing Fjord locationNorth Sea elevation0 m 0 ft Length94 km 58 mi Basin size2 100 km2 810 sq mi Discharge average35 m3 s 1 200 cu ft s Contents 1 Recent history 2 See also 3 References 4 Sources 5 External linksRecent history EditIn the 1960s the Danish government began straightening the rivers run and drain the extensive wetlands that had formed around the river mouth to prevent the frequent floodings and allow for intensive farming in the region However the plan backfired Without the frequent sediment deposits supplied by floodings increasing amounts of chemical fertilizers and nutrients were needed to sustain a productive agriculture and the river unable to spread the sediment across a wide wetland silted up in many places Furthermore the land began to sink as it dried out and ceased to be replenished with fresh sediment The slow sinking of the land made the drainage infrastructure increasingly ineffective By 1987 the government decided to implement a program of land rehabilitation to restore the river to a more natural state Though the plan was not completed and approved until 1997 by 2002 the work was mostly completed Much of the river and wetland are now protected area home to a variety of wildlife including otters Atlantic salmon and a variety of waterbirds Tourism and traditional cattle grazing have replaced the intensive agriculture as the primary economic use of the land The restored Skjern River and surrounding delta was supposed to be incorporated in the Skjern A National Park comprising a 248 7 hectare 615 acre area but the national park project was abandoned in 2012 1 The national park process however had already advanced to the level of establishing walking paths and facilities for visitors at that point and on 21 September 2014 two local citizens groups involving nine towns and villages unofficially opened Skjern A National Park 2 See also EditList of rivers in Denmark List of national parks of DenmarkReferences Edit Nationalpark Skjern A opgivet Archived 2017 03 02 at the Wayback Machine Nationalpark Skjern A abnede d 21 september 2014Sources EditEcological Engineering 2007 Morten Lauge Pedersen et al Restoration of Skjern River and its valley Short term effects on river habitats macrophytes and macroinvertebrates Department of Freshwater Ecology National Environmental Research Institute External links EditMap of the river delta Sense the West Coast Skjern A A Unique Piece of Nature Info page on nature and tourists experiences in the river delta Skjern A The river of Westernjutland visited 20 01 2015 in Danish The restoration of Skjern River The River Restoration Center article on the Skjern55 55 N 8 23 E 55 917 N 8 383 E 55 917 8 383 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Skjern River amp oldid 1119307545, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
