Skjern River
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| Skjern River | |
|---|---|
 The source of the Skjern River. | |
| Native name | Skjern Å (Danish) |
| Location | |
| Country | Denmark |
| Region | Jutland |
| District | Central Denmark Region |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Tinnet Krat |
| • elevation | 70 m (230 ft) |
| Mouth | Ringkøbing Fjord |
• location | North Sea |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 94 km (58 mi) |
| Basin size | 2,100 km2 (810 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 35 m3/s (1,200 cu ft/s) |
Skjern River (
m³/s
.
Recent history
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
, 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]
See also
- List of rivers in Denmark
- List of national parks of Denmark
References
Sources
- 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 links
- 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 restoration of Skjern River
- The River Restoration Center article on the Skjern