River
Pite River
400 km from source to mouth · Sweden.
SwedenFlows into Bothnian Bay9th longest in Sweden
In numbers
Length
400km
Average flow
160m³/s
Basin
11,285km²
Drop
558m
from 565 m to 7 m
Country
1
The journey
From source to mouth
400 km of river and 58 stops on the way: 1 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.
- 0 kmScandinavian Mountainsat 565 m
- 2 kmPieskehaure58 km²
- 6 kmVuojatsavon1.0 km²
- 12 kmAlep Mäkak1.6 km²
- 16 kmLulep Mäkak2.2 km²
- 22 kmSarta3.6 km²
- 27 kmKuoddujaure5.4 km²
- 33 kmViltok3.5 km²
- 34 kmPadjesavon0.7 km²
- 37 kmBuoktjaure1.5 km²
- 38 kmRaukasavon0.5 km²
- 38 kmKåtaselet0.5 km²
- 43 kmFalehaure5.0 km²
- 64 kmLulep Ramanj-Jaure0.3 km²
- 70 kmAlep Tjuoiva0.4 km²
- 72 kmAkajaure1.6 km²
- 72 kmMätjaure0.8 km²
- 77 kmTjeggelvas66 km²
- 80 kmRutjajaure0.4 km²
- 82 kmMunkajaure2.5 km²
- 86 kmVuonatjjaure0.4 km²
- 92 kmPällajaure1.6 km²
- 96 kmSkierfajaure13 km²
- 102 kmSjiunjanjaure0.7 km²
- 103 kmPadje-Måskejaure4.7 km²
- 105 kmVuolle Måskejaure2.6 km²
- 113 kmAlekjaure0.7 km²
- 114 kmLouvvajaure0.8 km²
- 124 kmLuspejaure0.4 km²
- 126 kmSaddajaure20 km²
- 143 kmDavekjaure0.4 km²
- 144 kmVuolvojaure29 km²
- 145 kmSeidatj0.6 km²
- 150 kmLuttunjaure3.5 km²
- 153 kmMårsomjaure1.3 km²
- 161 kmPajjesuvvan0.6 km²
- 163 kmVuollesavon2.6 km²
- 163 kmEggelats11 km²
- 170 kmÅrjep Kaskojaure1.0 km²
- 179 kmPuoitasjaure1.8 km²
- 193 kmTaktalisjaure0.4 km²
- 195 kmJäknajaure7.3 km²
- 205 kmAkkajaure0.9 km²
- 205 kmPuoktjaure2.8 km²
- 208 kmFätnajaure1.7 km²
- 215 kmÖvre Trollselet0.5 km²
- 218 kmTrollforsen
- 220 kmPite River Bridge
- 224 kmNedre Abmoselet0.6 km²
- 225 kmKåddejaure0.4 km²
- 259 kmBenbryteforsen
- 262 kmInre Nästräsket0.6 km²
- 263 kmYttre Nästräsket1.0 km²
- 272 kmSör-Grundträsket1.4 km²
- 272 kmNörd-Grundträsket0.9 km²
- 275 kmÅkerselforsen
- 282 kmStenträsket2.1 km²
- 287 kmStorforsen
- 332 kmÄlvsbyn4,976 people
- 400 kmBothnian Bayat 7 m
Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.
River in Sweden
At the mouth it carries 160 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 16 seconds. It drops from 565 m to 7 m, 1.4 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 11,285 km², about the size of GM. 20,000 people live in it. Highest water, with the snowmelt: from May to July; lowest: from January to April. No large dam holds it back: it is one of the world's free-flowing rivers.
Where to start
- ÄlvsbynLargest city on its banks · 4,976 people
- Luleå Airport (LLA)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 54 km from the cityCar hire at AJR airport (Arvidsjaur)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- On the water3 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
- Kayak and canoe4 put-ins and rapids mapped (OpenStreetMap)
- JulyThe best months to visit
Pite River, month by month
Highest water: from May to July
Lowest water: from January to April. Freezing months (average below −4 °C): from November to March. Melting snow makes up much of its water. Best months to visit: July.
From about 51 m³/s in the lowest month to 470 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
Pite River: the basin in numbers
12,157 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.
- 20,000people live in the basin
- 2/km²people per km²
- 468maverage altitude of the basin
- 602mmof rain a year (basin average)
- -0.8°Caverage air temperature
- 17%protected areas
- 7.0%covered by lakes
- 9%permafrost
What covers the basin
- 68% 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
Pite River: what you find on the way
- 6WaterfallsÁbmoguojkka, Trollforsen, Nedre Trollforsen and 3 more
- 3RapidsTrollforsen, Benbryteforsen, Fällforsen
- 1Canoe put-insPutin övre turen
- 3Boat ramps
- 4River beachesOasen vid Sandudden, Berglundstjärn, badplats and 2 more
From OpenStreetMap, within 1.9 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Pite River 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.
4waterfalls on the riverCascadyas
52lakes on its wayLakeyas
3beaches at the mouth and on the banksCoastya
6mountains at the sourcePeakyas
4islands off the mouthIslandyas
Waterfalls (4)
On the river, by Cascadyas
- Trollforsenkm 182
- Benbryteforsenkm 216
- Åkerselforsenkm 229
- Storforsenkm 239
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Lakes and reservoirs (52)
Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas
- Pieskehaurekm 258km²
- Tjeggelvaskm 64 · 65 m deep66km²
- Munkajaurekm 682.5km²
- Skierfajaurekm 8013km²
- Saddajaurekm 10520km²
- Vuolvojaurekm 12029km²
- Eggelatskm 13611km²
- Jäknajaurekm 1637.3km²
44 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
Beaches (3)
At the mouth (25 km) and on the banks, by Coastya
- Bredängesviken21 km away · cove14.9°C
- Kolaviken24 km away · cove14.9°C
- Timviken16 km away · cove15.0°C
Mountains at the source (6)
Within 15 km of the source, by Peakyas
- Vuopmeketjetjåkko9.7 km away
- Nammates5.9 km away
- Kattsatjtjåkko6.7 km away
- Jengak8.1 km away
- Radtja2.3 km away
- Muoranjunje14 km away
Islands off the mouth (4)
Within 30 km of the mouth, by Islandyas
- Vargön26 km away11km²
- Pitholmen17 km away
- Örsgrönnan21 km away15km²
- Mellerstön29 km away9.3km²
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
Pite River in pictures
Tributaries
Where it flows, and what flows into it
Tributaries (3)
Also: Lillpite River, Borgforsälven, Svensbyån
Nearby
Rivers nearby
Sweden410 km160 m³/s78 km awayKalix RiverSweden461 km290 m³/s97 km awayTorne RiverSweden470 km380 m³/s140 km awayKemijoki
Finland550 km560 m³/s154 km awayUme älvSweden467 km450 m³/s186 km awayVindel RiverSweden450 km250 m³/s177 km awayOulujokiFinland107 km250 m³/s198 km awayIijokiFinland370 km200 m³/s187 km awayWhere these numbers come from
| Name, length, places | Wikidata (Q1330818) · 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, Peakyas, 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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