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Tokke (lake)
Encyclopedia
Toke is a lake
in Drangedal
municipality in Telemark
, Norway
, consisting of Upper and Lower Toke, which is connected via "Straumen" - "the stream". At the north end of Upper Toke is the town center Prestestranda
. In the south, Lower Toke reaches into Bamble
(Rørholtfjorden) and into Kragerø
, where its outlet is in Lundereidelva at the Dalfoss hydroelectric plant. The lake, with its inflow, constitutes the majority of the Kragerø watershed.
With a surface of about 19 square miles (49.2 km²) and a drainage basin of 770 square miles (1,994.3 km²), Toke is a substantial body of water in Telemark. The approximately 115 mile (185 km)-long shoreline, a large part of which consists of an old lakebed with deposits of silt, is strongly exposed to erosion because of development for power production. With its long shoreline and innumerable larger and smaller islands and narrow bays, Toke is a popular destination for boaters and sportsfishermen. Trout
, Arctic char
, whitefish
, and perch
are all found in the lake.
, about 9,500 years ago, the sea along the coast of Telemark was about 330 feet (100m) higher than today. Where Toke is currently, Drangedalsfjorden reached about 27 miles (60km) onto land from Kragerø, through Drangedal, and up to Bø
in Tørdal. The land rose quickly after the weight of the ice had gone. After about 1,000 years Toke became a lake, as it is known today. At the bottom of Rørholtfjorden, about 295 feet (90m) under the surface of the sea, a 32-40 foot (10-12m) layer of saltwater still exists from that time.
Since the arrival of man in the area about 9,000 years ago, Toke has served as a main artery between the sea and the inland. Signs from the Stone Age
are found spread along the banks and on the islands of the lake. Cairn
s from the Bronze Age
and Iron Age
s are a common sight along the water's edge.
was made in "Straumen" between Upper and Lower Toke to make trade with larger vessels possible, and to make the transport of timber easier. Steamboat traffic started the same year, with DS "Tokedølen" which serviced the Prestestranda-Merkebekk area. In the fall of 1888, the more luxurious DS "Turist" came along with the same traffic. The owner of this boat, Halvor H. Strømme, had plans to build a canal in the area from Merkebekk down to the sea, but nothing came of it.
Trains and buses overtook most transportation then, and "Tokedølen" ran out of steady traffic around 1923. "Turist" kept going until 1929, when transport was taken care of by tugboats and barges.
Car traffic to Grenland
was dependent on ferry transport across Lower Toke from Vefall to Kjenndalen, over the Vefall sound. This area was served by the ferry captain Karl Straume, first with barges of increasing size, and later with self-built ferries. The last ferry, "Vefaldsund II", went out of service when RV356 was made. RV356, on the east side of Toke and across Straume bridge, opened for traffic December 15, 1967. This was the last inland ferry in this kind of trade in Norway.
Kragerøvassdragets fellesfløtningsforening (Kragerø Watershed Logging Association) got the first rights to regulate and dam Toke (and Hoseidvann) in 1899. With the advent of electricity, the rights to dam Toke were given to Norsk Elektrokemisk Aktieselskap (Norwegian Electrochemical Corporation) in 1916. These rights were followed by more extensions and delays, before Toke was dammed around 1940 as it is seen today, from 185 to 200 feet (60.35-55.75m). On average, more than 8,400 gallons (32,000 liters) of water run out of Toke each second. On its path towards the sea the water is used for power production in five hydroelectric plants throughout the municipality of Kragerø.
Since the beginning, regulation has been the subject of repeated complaints from the landowners along Toke, including Drangedal municipality. They think that the rights are wrongly interpreted, and that the banks around Toke are washed out illegally each year.
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
in Drangedal
Drangedal
Drangedal is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestestranda. The municipality of Drangedal was established on 1 January 1838...
municipality in Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, consisting of Upper and Lower Toke, which is connected via "Straumen" - "the stream". At the north end of Upper Toke is the town center Prestestranda
Prestestranda
Prestestranda is the administrative centre of Drangedal municipality, Norway. Its population is 1,223. The village was built around the train station which appeared with the Sørlandsbanen railroad in 1927....
. In the south, Lower Toke reaches into Bamble
Bamble
Bamble is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Langesund.-Name:...
(Rørholtfjorden) and into Kragerø
Kragerø
is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø....
, where its outlet is in Lundereidelva at the Dalfoss hydroelectric plant. The lake, with its inflow, constitutes the majority of the Kragerø watershed.
With a surface of about 19 square miles (49.2 km²) and a drainage basin of 770 square miles (1,994.3 km²), Toke is a substantial body of water in Telemark. The approximately 115 mile (185 km)-long shoreline, a large part of which consists of an old lakebed with deposits of silt, is strongly exposed to erosion because of development for power production. With its long shoreline and innumerable larger and smaller islands and narrow bays, Toke is a popular destination for boaters and sportsfishermen. Trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
, Arctic char
Arctic char
Arctic char or Arctic charr is both a freshwater and saltwater fish in the Salmonidae family, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters. No other freshwater fish is found as far north. It is the only species of fish in Lake Hazen, on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic...
, whitefish
Freshwater whitefish
The freshwater whitefish are fish of the subfamily Coregoninae in the salmon family Salmonidae. Along with the freshwater whitefish, the Salmonidae includes the freshwater and anadromous trout and salmon species as well as graylings...
, and perch
Perch
Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
are all found in the lake.
History
After the last Ice AgeIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, about 9,500 years ago, the sea along the coast of Telemark was about 330 feet (100m) higher than today. Where Toke is currently, Drangedalsfjorden reached about 27 miles (60km) onto land from Kragerø, through Drangedal, and up to Bø
Bø, Drangedal
Bø is a village in the Tørdal district of Drangedal municipality, Norway. It is located in the northern end of Bjorvatnet lake....
in Tørdal. The land rose quickly after the weight of the ice had gone. After about 1,000 years Toke became a lake, as it is known today. At the bottom of Rørholtfjorden, about 295 feet (90m) under the surface of the sea, a 32-40 foot (10-12m) layer of saltwater still exists from that time.
Since the arrival of man in the area about 9,000 years ago, Toke has served as a main artery between the sea and the inland. Signs from the Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
are found spread along the banks and on the islands of the lake. Cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
s from the Bronze Age
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
and Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
s are a common sight along the water's edge.
Boat Trade
In 1864, a canalCanal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
was made in "Straumen" between Upper and Lower Toke to make trade with larger vessels possible, and to make the transport of timber easier. Steamboat traffic started the same year, with DS "Tokedølen" which serviced the Prestestranda-Merkebekk area. In the fall of 1888, the more luxurious DS "Turist" came along with the same traffic. The owner of this boat, Halvor H. Strømme, had plans to build a canal in the area from Merkebekk down to the sea, but nothing came of it.
Trains and buses overtook most transportation then, and "Tokedølen" ran out of steady traffic around 1923. "Turist" kept going until 1929, when transport was taken care of by tugboats and barges.
Car traffic to Grenland
Grenland
Grenland is a traditional district in the county of Telemark, in the south of Norway. It is composed of the municipalities Skien, Porsgrunn, Bamble, Nome, and Siljan. Sometimes the municipalities Kragerø, and Drangedal are considered being part of the area...
was dependent on ferry transport across Lower Toke from Vefall to Kjenndalen, over the Vefall sound. This area was served by the ferry captain Karl Straume, first with barges of increasing size, and later with self-built ferries. The last ferry, "Vefaldsund II", went out of service when RV356 was made. RV356, on the east side of Toke and across Straume bridge, opened for traffic December 15, 1967. This was the last inland ferry in this kind of trade in Norway.
Regulation
Around 1530, the water saw came to the area, and the use of saws and export of timber grew steadily. Every river which ran into Toke was dammed for saw operation and timber transport, as well as Toke's outlet to the Lundereid river down towards Kragerø, where more sawing occurred, making use of the water power before it ebbed out into the sea.Kragerøvassdragets fellesfløtningsforening (Kragerø Watershed Logging Association) got the first rights to regulate and dam Toke (and Hoseidvann) in 1899. With the advent of electricity, the rights to dam Toke were given to Norsk Elektrokemisk Aktieselskap (Norwegian Electrochemical Corporation) in 1916. These rights were followed by more extensions and delays, before Toke was dammed around 1940 as it is seen today, from 185 to 200 feet (60.35-55.75m). On average, more than 8,400 gallons (32,000 liters) of water run out of Toke each second. On its path towards the sea the water is used for power production in five hydroelectric plants throughout the municipality of Kragerø.
Since the beginning, regulation has been the subject of repeated complaints from the landowners along Toke, including Drangedal municipality. They think that the rights are wrongly interpreted, and that the banks around Toke are washed out illegally each year.