Sjoa
View of the river (2005) Credit: TaHan
Location of the river Show map of Innlandet Sjoa (Norway) Show map of Norway
Location
Country	Norway
County	Innlandet
Municipalities	Vågå and Sel
Physical characteristics
Source	Gjende lake
• location	Gjendesheim, Vågå
• coordinates	61°29′42″N 8°48′29″E / 61.4949763°N 8.8080739°E / 61.4949763; 8.8080739
• elevation	985 metres (3,232 ft)
Mouth	Gudbrandsdalslågen
• location	Sjoa, Sel
• coordinates	61°40′47″N 9°32′04″E / 61.67964345°N 9.53443765°E / 61.67964345; 9.53443765
• elevation	270 metres (890 ft)
Length	98 km (61 mi)
Basin size	1,527 km2 (590 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	34.4 m3/s (1,210 cu ft/s)

The Sjoa is a river in Innlandet county, Norway. The 98-kilometre (61 mi) long river runs through the municipalities of Vågå and Sel and it provides the outlet from lake Gjende at Gjendesheim in the Jotunheimen mountains of Norway's Jotunheim National Park. The river flows eastward through the Sjodalen valley and Heidal valley into the Gudbrandsdalslågen river at the village of Sjoa.^[1]

South of the village of Randsverk, the river flows through Ridderspranget which is a ravine named after a Norwegian myth.

Rafting, kayaking and fishing

The river is used for kayaking, rafting and fishing. Thirteen deaths have occurred in the river, from 1989 to 2010. This includes four deaths involving a group of tourists in various inflatable "catarafts", on 24 July 2010 (a national newspaper claimed that at that time the level of the river was 10 centimetres (4 in) above a safe level for rafting).^[2][3]

There are several companies offering rafting, kayaking, riverboarding and other activities in Sjoa and the surrounding area. Some parts of the river are impossible to raft.^{[citation needed]} Some parts are blocked by large rocks which the river flows underneath. These areas are considered "death traps" by the local commercial rafting providers.^{[citation needed]}