The
Greater Lule River (
Big Lule River) arguably begins somewhere near
Bajep Sårjåsjávrre in Norway, just east of
Blåmannsisen glacier. The water flows over the border to the
Virihaure lake in
Padjelanta National Park, which also collects water from
Kerkevare (via
Kettaurejokk) and
Alkajaure (via
Millätno). The
Tukejokk joins the Lule as well in Virihaure. Leaving Virihaure to the north, the river reaches the
Vastenjaure lake after losing 32m over 2.2 km. It then flows via the
Vuojatätno to lake
Kutjaure and then
Luoktanjarkajaure, collecting a lot of water from other lakes in
Sarek National Park, like
Salohaure, and from the Swedish-
Norwegian border, before entering the
Akkajaure reservoir, which has a storage capacity in excess of 6 km3, constituting the largest man-made lake in Sweden. The creation and expansion of the reservoir as well as the later added power plant Vietas meant the curtailment of flow downstream to the waterfall
Stora Sjöfallet, where the water falls 39.6 m from
Kårtjejaure to
Langasjaure and which used to be known as one of the most impressive
waterfalls in Sweden. In the latter of the lakes, the
Vietasajokk joins the Lule, nowadays also through the aforementioned powerplant. After Langas, the river drops 2 meters in a small section of rapids known as Jaurekaska into
Stora Lulevatten, which is the largest of the lakes in the river. The 20 km long stretch between the outlet of Stora Lulevatten and just downstream of Ligga is particularly noteworthy for its geology and topography. Whereas the topsoil along the shore for most of the course is constituted of moraine, the river banks along this particular stretch are largely constituted of exposed bedrock. In this section, the river alters considerably to rather have the characteristics of a mountain torrent than a large river, as in its natural state, it drops more than 207 meters through a nearly continuous series of rapids and waterfalls, including those at
Porjus and
Harsprånget in what partly was constituted of a deep, narrow gorge, sometimes over 40 meters deep. The sustained gradient for this section is around 1%, which is extremely steep for a river of the size, considering its average flow rate here reaches 270 m3/s. The sustained, concentrated drop combined with the river's high average flow rate affords the three hydroelectric power plants along the segment, namely Porjus, Harsprånget and Ligga a combined hydroelectric potential that rivals
Ulla-Førre or all the power plants along the
High Rhine in productivity, as this corridor alone produces an annual average of 4.2 TWh, or 30% of the production on the entire river system, including tributaries. It is believed that the river's course in pre-glacial times downstream of Stora Lulevatten went through the
Råne River valley. Later, it's believed that the river broke its present more southernly course through
stream capture by the present right tributary Pakkojokk along fracture zones, with the resulting increased flow rate eroding the deeply incised valley downstream of Stora Lulevatten. . The waterfall Harsprånget (former name: Njommelsaska) was the largest waterfall on the Swedish Lule River but has been dammed for
hydroelectricity. Downstream of Ligga, the river drops another 87 meters over 25 km. In its natural state, this stretch was made up of several, continuous rapids, whereas today, this section is wholly made up of the
Messaure reservoir, which is dammed by a 2 km long, 100 m tall rock-fill dam, the largest in Sweden, where said drop is exploited for power generation. At this segment, the main river is joined by the
Muddus River from
Muddus National Park. Downstream, at 75m above sea level, near the village of
Vuollerim, the river joins with the
Lesser Lule River. The Lule passes the
Porsiforsen (25m over 2 km),
Edefors and
Hedens fors, rapids that nowadays all likewise have been exploited for power generation. It flows into the
Baltic Sea through the
Bälingefjärden and
Lulefjärden. The name of the town Luleå means "Lule River"; the river's name is from the Sami
lulij meaning "Easterner", a name for Forest Sami people. Other rivers in the watershed of the Lule with a length of more than 100 km are:
Blackälven,
Flarkån,
Lesser Lule River,
Pärlälven,
Rissajåkkå,
Vietasätno, and
Bodträskån. == Hydroelectric power stations ==