Toka Gorge

Last updated
Toka Gorge
Tokagjelet (Norwegian)
Tokagjelet, ca. 1915.jpg
The Toka Gorge c. 1915
Floor elevation202 m (663 ft)
Geology
Type River valley
Geography
Location Vestland, Norway
Coordinates 60°22′01″N6°02′19″E / 60.36708°N 6.03862°E / 60.36708; 6.03862  
Location
Toka Gorge
Interactive map of Toka Gorge

The Toka Gorge (English) [1] [2] [3] or Tokagjelet (Norwegian) [4] is a river gorge in Kvam Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The gorge lies west of the village of Norheimsund along the Norwegian County Road 49. [5] [6]

Contents

Four sections parallel to the new tunnels preserve the old route of the road through the gorge. Gamle Riksvei 7, Kvam.jpg
Four sections parallel to the new tunnels preserve the old route of the road through the gorge.

History

The gorge is traversed by Norwegian County Road 49 (historically the road was part of Norwegian County Road 7), which was laid out around 1890, started being built in 1903, and it was opened in 1907. Large parts of the road were built by hand while workers hung on ropes against the sheer mountainside. A new route with four tunnels was built between 1953 and 1956. In 2009 the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage protected the old road as part of the National Protection Plan for Roads, Bridges, and Road-Related Cultural Heritage. [7]

Name

The name Tokagjelet comes from Old Norse word tǫk , the plural of tak which means 'grip' or 'hold' [5] plus the definite form of the word gjel which means 'gorge' or 'ravine' (gjel comes from the Old Norse word gil ).

References

  1. ↑ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vol. 11. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1997. p. 822.
  2. ↑ "...in Lands of Enchantment". The Geographical Magazine. 1 (1): 162. 1935. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  3. ↑ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vol. 12. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2003. p. 338.
  4. ↑ "Informasjon om stadnamn". Norgeskart (in Norwegian). Kartverket . Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 Thorsnæs, Geir, ed. (26 November 2024). "Tokagjelet". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "Toka Gorge". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "Tokagjelet - 168 SVV NVP / Tokagjelet 1. generasjon bilveg - 168 SVV NVP". Kulturminnesøk. Retrieved 21 May 2018.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.