Stream
Paatsjoki
385 km from source to mouth · Norway, Russia and Finland.
Norway, Russia and FinlandFlows into Bøkfjorden2nd longest in Norway
In numbers
Length
385km
Average flow
210m³/s
Basin
18,280km²
Drop
166m
from 103 m to -63 m
Countries
3
The journey
From source to mouth
385 km of river and 25 stops on the way: 0 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.
- 0 kmSourceat 103 m
- 45 kmLake Inari1,098 km²
- 55 kmJoukhaisjärvi0.8 km²
- 56 kmSoardijävri0.4 km²
- 73 kmJäniskoski
- 87 kmØdevatnet2.8 km²
- 90 kmNautsijokitributary
- 97 kmGjeddevatnet0.4 km²
- 101 kmKhevaskoski Reservoir6.8 km²
- 102 kmHestefossen
- 133 kmKobbfoss
- 145 kmVaggatem59 km²
- 145 kmSkogfoss
- 146 kmSkogvatn0.5 km²
- 150 kmMelkefoss
- 173 kmHolmfossen
- 182 kmVatskheryarvi3.2 km²
- 182 kmKlistervatnet51 km²
- 182 kmHarefossen
- 182 kmStore Fiskevatnet2.5 km²
- 186 kmSkoltefoss
- 188 kmPikevatnet0.7 km²
- 190 kmElvenes bridge
- 190 kmSvartakselvannet1.6 km²
- 190 kmRundvatnet0.4 km²
- 191 kmBøkfjord Bridge
- 194 kmBøkfjordenat -63 m
Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.
River that flows in Finland, Norway and Russia
At the mouth it carries 208 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 12 seconds. It drops from 103 m to -63 m, 0.4 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 18,280 km², about the size of FJ. 19,000 people live in it. Highest water, with the snowmelt: from May to July; lowest: from January to April. Dams and reservoirs hold back a large share of its water (16% of a year's flow).
Where to start
- BjørnevatnLargest city on its banks · 2,536 people
- Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 8 km from the cityCar hire at VDS airport (Vadsø)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- On the water2 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
- From July to AugustThe best months to visit
Paatsjoki, month by month
Highest water: from May to July
Lowest water: from January to April. Freezing months (average below −4 °C): from December to March. Melting snow makes up much of its water. Best months to visit: from July to August.
From about 72 m³/s in the lowest month to 200 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.
Plan the trip
Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The basin
Paatsjoki: the basin in numbers
17,831 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.
- 19,000people live in the basin
- 1/km²people per km²
- 208maverage altitude of the basin
- 443mmof rain a year (basin average)
- -1.2°Caverage air temperature
- 44%protected areas
- 10.7%covered by lakes
- 6%permafrost
- 0.8km³held in reservoirs
What covers the basin
- 28% Forest
RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.
Along the river
Paatsjoki: what you find on the way
- 5Weirs
- 1WaterfallsHolmfossen
- 1Boat ramps
- 1MarinasTyllylahti
From OpenStreetMap, within 1.9 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Paatsjoki in our other atlases
What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.
8waterfalls on the riverCascadyas
14lakes on its wayLakeyas
4beaches at the mouth and on the banksCoastya
3islands off the mouthIslandyas
Waterfalls (8)
On the river, by Cascadyas
- Jäniskoskikm 73
- Hestefossenkm 102
- Kobbfosskm 133
- Skogfosskm 145
- Melkefosskm 150
- Holmfossenkm 173
- Harefossenkm 182
- Skoltefosskm 186
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Lakes and reservoirs (14)
Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas
- Lake Inarikm 45 · 92 m deep1,098km²
- Ødevatnetkm 872.8km²
- Khevaskoski Reservoirkm 1016.8km²
- Vaggatemkm 14559km²
- Skogvatnkm 1460.5km²
- Vatskheryarvikm 1823.2km²
- Klistervatnetkm 18251km²
- Pikevatnetkm 1880.7km²
6 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
Beaches (4)
At the mouth (25 km) and on the banks, by Coastya
- Sállanriddu16 km away10.8°C
- Leirpollen8.5 km away · cove10.8°C
- Valbukta11 km away · cove10.8°C
- Svenskesteinbukt14 km away · cove10.8°C
Islands off the mouth (3)
Within 30 km of the mouth, by Islandyas
- Skogerøya20 km away129km²
- Kjelmøya21 km away5.4km²
- Reinøya13 km away3.0km²
Islandyas is coming soonOpen Islandyas ↗
From space
The source and the mouth, seen from orbit
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.
Photos
Paatsjoki in pictures
Tributaries
Where it flows, and what flows into it
Tributaries (10)
Also: Nautsijoki, Kolosjoki, Kornetiyoki, Ellenelva, Laukkujoki, Ryussyanyoki, Seygiyoki, Sjuonijoki, Sametielva, Bodibekken
SwedenWhere these numbers come from
| Name, length, places | Wikidata (Q524612) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Course, profile, basin | RiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata |
| Flow | WaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate along the river | WorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Towns, bridges, dams | Wikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Along the river | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Our other atlases | Cascadyas, Lakeyas, Coastya, Islandyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every source and licence is on the data sources page.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
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Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
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Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit 
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Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
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Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit