Driva

Before the last ice age, the river Driva drained northwards from Oppdal and joined the Orkla river. The uppermost part of the river in the Sunndalen valley which included the tributaries from the lake Gjevilvatnet, Dindalen, and Storlidalen then drained eastwards to Oppdal and joined the older Driva there. The ice age changed the course of the Driva and today, these three tributaries still flow eastwards until they meet the (now) westward-flowing Driva.

Pilgrims followed the Driva on their way to the St. Olav shrine in Trondheim during the Middle Ages. As a result of the heavy stream of pilgrims who followed the Pilgrim's Route prior to the Reformation, king Øystein erected mountain stations where the pilgrims could find food and shelter. Kongsvoll, located along the Driva River in the upper Drivdalen valley, was one of these stations, another was Drivstua (no).

The Driva was formerly an excellent salmon river, but the parasite Gyrodactylus salaris has decimated the salmon stock. It is an excellent sea trout river, usually ranked number 1 or 2 in all of Norway, by total catch. Salmon and sea trout migrate up to Mågålaupet (approximately 80 kilometres or 50 miles) and at optimal water discharge probably even further. Especially for sea trout this is an unusually long migration, although the majority of trout in Driva do not wander so far.

The only tributary with a run of anadromous fish is the Grøvu, a river that enters from the south/west soon after Driva has reached the Sunndalen valley. Grøvu is also Driva's biggest tributary, and well known for the "Åmotan", a part of the Grøvu valley where 5 rivers meet, 3 of them coming down dramatic waterfalls. Grøvu is also world-famous for extreme kayaking or river rafting.