Varde Å

The Varde Å is a river in Denmark's Jutland. It is Denmark's third-longest river, with a catchment area of 1,088 square kilometers and a length of around 40 kilometers (25 mi) (420 sq mi). The river flows through the municipalities of Varde and Esbjerg, providing a border between them and forming part of the river's route.

The confluence of the Grindsted and the Ansager forms the Varde. A weir about 300 meters (330 yards) downstream redirected the bulk of the river's flow into the Ansager Canal, which led to Lake Karlsgrde, which was utilized for hydroelectric power generation at the Karlsgrde Hydroelectric Plant in Varde. Sydvest Energi, the plant's operator, has given up its rights to dam and redirect watercourses in the Varde drainage basin since 2006, and the river now flows past Hodde, bypassing the reservoir, which is now supplied only by the Holme River.

The factory will be completely shut down. The Varde Å is Denmark's only significant tidal river whose discharge is not controlled by dykes or sluice gates. As a result, natural factors continue to affect the river; for example, the bay tides affect both water level and flow rate well upriver, frequently as far as the outflow from Lake Karlsgrde. This is considered one of the longest rivers in Denmark.

Length: 90.5 km