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or is a small [[strait]] with one of the strongest [[tidal current|Tide]]s in the world. It is located in Bodø Municipality in [[Nordland]] county, [[Norway]]. It is located about southeast of the town of Bodø. The narrow channel connects the outer [[Saltfjorden]] to the large [[Skjerstad Fjord]] between the islands of Straumøya and Knaplundsøya. The Saltstraumen Bridge on Norwegian County Road 17 crosses Saltstraumen.
Saltstraumen has existed for about two to three thousand years. Before that, the area was different due to post-glacial rebound. The current is created when the tide tries to fill Skjerstad Fjord. The height difference between the sea level and the fjord inside can be up to . When the current turns, there is a period when the strait is navigable.
The above account of the Saltstraumen is rather different than what The Norwegian Pilot reports.Den norske los, Bind 5, PDF Versjon 6.4, page 1434. The Pilot’s description of the normal current is based on the time of the high tide at Bodø. The greatest southbound current occurs about one and a quarter hours before Bodø high tide, when the inflowing current reaches about . The speed of the current has a broad maximum being greater than from three hours before Bodø high tide until half an hour after Bodø high tide. The greatest northbound current occurs about four and a half hours after Bodø high tide, when the outflowing current reaches over . The speed of this current also has a broad maximum being above six knots from two hours and forty minutes after Bodø high tide until five and a half hours before the next Bodø high tide. The behavior of the current may differ from normal due to strong winds or when more fresh water than usual is entering into the fjord from the surrounding mountains.
are the only birds capable of diving for in the strong stream.
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