Facts about Saltstraumen.

Saltstraumen has been called the strongest maelstrom in the world. Measurements have shown that at spring tide ca 400 million tonnes of water race through the sound every sixth hour, at speeds up to 24 knots (ca 40 km pr hour). The tide race is also famous for its frightening whirlpools and eddies, that are formed when the great volumes of water pass in and out of the sound. Saltstraumen is a low threshold between two fjords, each of which are many hundreds of fathoms deep. The Sound itself is between 50 and 80 metres deep, and large. submerged skerries cause whirlpools to form. In normal spring tides the largest whirlpools are about 12 metres in diameter and 4-5 metres deep