River
Tana
370 km from source to mouth · Norway and Finland.
Norway and FinlandFlows into Tanafjord3rd longest in Norway
In numbers
Length
370km
Average flow
210m³/s
Basin
16,394km²
Drop
346m
from 351 m to 5 m
Countries
2
The journey
From source to mouth
370 km of river and 45 stops on the way: 3 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.
- 0 kmLulit Bissovárriat 351 m
- 7 kmIešjávri68 km²
- 10 kmOaivvošluoppal0.6 km²
- 11 kmCægguguoika
- 11 kmJorbaluoppal0.7 km²
- 15 kmBovdnaluoppal1.0 km²
- 18 kmHalkajavri0.6 km²
- 21 kmSalteluobbal0.3 km²
- 25 kmRåmisjavri0.4 km²
- 25 kmJuovsajavri0.8 km²
- 26 kmČorotjávri4.0 km²
- 26 kmČårutguoika
- 26 kmČorotguoika
- 29 kmIesjåkgårŋi
- 29 kmIešjokgorži
- 35 kmAjutluobbal0.7 km²
- 36 kmAjutluobbalguoika
- 40 kmCeakkoguoika
- 41 kmÁhkarjávri1.2 km²
- 47 kmŠuoššjavri2.3 km²
- 52 kmBahasguoika
- 56 kmFierbmesaiguoika
- 58 kmGåhas
- 58 kmStuorra Gohás
- 59 kmUhca Gohás
- 69 kmMantalguoika
- 70 kmStåppoguoika
- 79 kmLiidnebæccanguoika
- 139 kmKarasjohkatributary
- 139 kmAnarjohkatributary
- 221 kmBitta
- 224 kmVuolimus Bihttá
- 227 kmBađđaguoika
- 235 kmGæđgašguoika
- 235 kmGeađggášguoika
- 246 kmSami Bridge
- 246 kmUtsjoki parish village319 people
- 246 kmUtsjoki1,139 people
- 263 kmVetsijokitributary
- 297 kmSkáidejávri0.4 km²
- 309 kmPolmakelvatributary
- 320 kmLišmmajávri1.8 km²
- 328 kmTana Municipality2,806 people
- 328 kmTana Bridge
- 338 kmSukielvatributary
- 358 kmHárrejávri2.0 km²
- 370 kmTanafjordat 5 m
Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.
River in Norway and Finland
At the mouth it carries 210 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 12 seconds. It drops from 351 m to 5 m, 0.9 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 16,394 km², about the size of SZ. 7,341 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
- Tana MunicipalityLargest city on its banks · 2,806 people
- Vadsø Airport (VDS)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 64 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)
- Kayak and canoe87 put-ins and rapids mapped (OpenStreetMap)
- From July to AugustThe best months to visit
Tana, 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: from July to August.
From about 36 m³/s in the lowest month to 730 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
Tana: the basin in numbers
16,725 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.
- 7,341people live in the basin
- 0/km²people per km²
- 322maverage altitude of the basin
- 460mmof rain a year (basin average)
- -2.4°Caverage air temperature
- 36%protected areas
- 2.5%covered by lakes
- 13%permafrost
What covers the basin
- 38% 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
Tana: what you find on the way
- 19WaterfallsCeakkoguoika, Čorotguoika, Iešjokgorži and 16 more
- 87RapidsVuolitguoika, Traktornjavvi, Mollešjohnjavvi and 84 more
- 2Boat ramps
From OpenStreetMap, within 1.9 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Tana 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.
20waterfalls on the riverCascadyas
15lakes on its wayLakeyas
3beaches at the mouth and on the banksCoastya
46mountains at the sourcePeakyas
1island off the mouthIslandyas
Waterfalls (20)
On the river, by Cascadyas
- Cægguguoikakm 9
- Čårutguoikakm 22
- Ajutluobbalguoikakm 31
- Ceakkoguoikakm 34
- Bahasguoikakm 44
- Fierbmesaiguoikakm 48
- Gåhaskm 49
- Liidnebæccanguoikakm 67
12 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Lakes and reservoirs (15)
Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas
- Iešjávrikm 6 · 41 m deep68km²
- Juovsajavrikm 220.8km²
- Čorotjávrikm 224.0km²
- Áhkarjávrikm 351.2km²
- Šuoššjavrikm 402.3km²
- Skáidejávrikm 2530.4km²
- Lišmmajávrikm 2731.8km²
- Hárrejávrikm 3052.0km²
7 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
Beaches (3)
At the mouth (25 km) and on the banks, by Coastya
- Torhopen12 km away · cove9.6°C
- Moskevika16 km away · cove9.6°C
- Breidvika21 km away · cove9.6°C
Mountains at the source (46)
Within 15 km of the source, by Peakyas
- Láŋká7.1 km away620m
- Njárgasaš6.7 km away380m
- Ájočohkat7.1 km away300m
- Vuorgutshokka14 km away
- Sollsar10 km away
- Pailsnjunni13 km away
- Lassiroavvi12 km away
- Nuorroaivi0.2 km away
38 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
Islands off the mouth (1)
Within 30 km of the mouth, by Islandyas
- Storøya29 km away
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
Tana in pictures
Tributaries
Where it flows, and what flows into it
Tributaries (23)
Also: Karasjohka, Anarjohka, Utsjoki, Vetsijoki, Borsi, Polmakelva, Akujoki, Sukielva, Čulloveaijohka, Piesjoki, Bađđá, Nilijoki, Nuvvosjohka, Kuoppilasjoki, Jeagelveaijohka, Sohpparjohka, Korselva, Leavvajohka, Báišjohka, Boahkkojohka, Harrelva, Álletjohka, Gulbojok
SwedenWhere these numbers come from
| Name, length, places | Wikidata (Q829866) · 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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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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