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The story of the Oulu River Valley

The Oulujoki River is the largest river in the Rokua Geopark and one of the biggest rivers in Finland. It was shaped by the last Ice Age, and the earliest settlements in the area developed along its banks. The Oulujoki has been an important transportation route, a significant connection between the coast and the inland, and one of Finland's first travel routes. Numerous stories about the Oulujoki still keep alive legends of giants, fishing tales, tar rowing and whitewater rafting traditions, as well as the unique stories of the villages. Today, the Oulujoki River Valley is a nationally valuable landscape area.

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The Oulujoki River is a 107-kilometer-long outlet river of Lake Oulujärvi, flowing through Vaala, Utajärvi, and Muhos before emptying into the Gulf of Bothnia in Oulu. It is fed by several tributaries, the largest of which are the Kutujoki, Utosjoki, Muhosjoki, and Sanginjoki rivers. For centuries, the Oulujoki flowed freely in a chain of rapids through canyons and served as a vital transport route between the inland and the coast.

The writer Sakari Topelius (1875) described the free-flowing Oulujoki as follows:
“High in the northeast, swift waters flow down from the mountainous regions, plunge into the Ämmäkoski Rapids near Kajaani, and find a brief rest in Lake Oulujärvi, 123 meters above sea level. From there, they break their way between the mountains toward the northwest, rushing from one rapid to the next, and finally thunder down into the bay in front of Oulu. It is a beautiful and mighty river, flowing between hills, cliffs, and sandy shores.”

Land Emerging Through Post-Glacial Rebound

The Oulujoki River began to form after the last Ice Age, around 9,500 years ago. As the continental glacier melted, the land released from beneath the ice remained submerged under the ancient Ancylus Lake, the predecessor of today’s Baltic Sea. The immense weight of the glacier had depressed the Earth’s crust by several hundred meters.

Gradually, the land started to return to its pre-Ice Age position and began to rise above sea level. This process of post-glacial rebound led to the formation of the Oulujoki River. The shoreline continued to retreat from the inland toward the sea. As a result of this transformation, the tributaries of the Oulujoki also developed, and their flows carved into the sandy seabed. In the Oulujoki River Valley, canyons up to tens of meters deep were formed.

The First People Arrive by the River

The post-Ice Age climate in Finland became favorable for human settlement around 6,000 years ago. The earliest settlements in the Oulujoki River Valley emerged in areas that had, by then, risen above sea level. At that time, the coastline and the Oulujoki River delta were located near Pyhäkoski in Muhos. As the land gradually emerged from the sea, fertile soils formed along the valley, left behind by ancient wetlands. Vegetation, animals, and eventually people followed into these newly exposed areas.

Ancient Stone Age findings reflect the role of the Oulujoki as a major route in the region. The river system made it possible for people to live and thrive inland. Settlements began to appear near water and at river confluences—at first sparsely, then more densely. The earliest settlements were mainly temporary shelters used for overnight stays. Fishing and hunting were the main sources of livelihood, and people also hunted seals, traveling by wooden dugout canoes along the waterways. During the Stone Age, people often traveled long distances.

Life Taking Root Along the River

During the earlier Stone Age, the climate was warmer than it is today, but it gradually began to cool, and average temperatures started to decline. The Oulujoki River remained an important route even in winter, especially during periods when the ice was thick enough to bear weight. Skis were already in use in Finland as early as the Stone Age. For example, in Muhos and Vaala, a type of Bronze Age ski has been discovered, likely used by the Sámi people who moved through the area.

In the Middle Ages, around the 11th century, the Oulujoki became an increasingly important trade route between East and West. For a long time, its waterways offered the fastest mode of transportation in the region, before the development of roads and railways. Karelian traders traveled along the river with furs, bringing goods to the markets of Novgorod. Lake Oulujärvi gathered a wide network of waterways, allowing travel from the White Sea all the way to Oulu and even to the far reaches of Lapland. The mouth of the Oulujoki became something of a strategic hub along this waterway network.

Permanent settlements along the river began to appear in the 14th century, for example in the Laitasaari area. Settlement increased during the 16th century when King Gustav Vasa encouraged the colonization of northern Finland, including by Savonian settlers. The main sources of livelihood were fishing and farming. Food stores had to be carefully rationed to last through the long winters, and there were harsh years when cold, short growing seasons and chilly summers made fishing and agriculture especially difficult.

Border Disputes and Wars Cast a Shadow on Life

Living conditions were affected by wars caused by border disputes. The significance of the Oulujoki River as a major transportation route brought with it military and political conflicts between Sweden and Novgorod. During the 16th century, wars and devastation destroyed settlements and caused suffering that continued into the early 18th century during the Great Northern War, known in Finland as the “Great Wrath.” Russian forces traveled along the Oulujoki during their raids, bringing further destruction to the region.

The River of Tar, Salmon, and Tourism

The commercial use of tar became widespread in the 1600s. The Oulujoki River, with its natural route for transporting tar, played a key role in the growth of the tar trade. It is also one of Finland’s oldest log driving routes, with millions of logs floated down its waters. In addition to tar and timber, the river has long served as a transport route for other essential goods of the time.

The use of the Oulujoki as a transportation route for people increased during the 17th century. Skilled boatmen, or rapid pilots, navigated boats through the challenging rapids. When the rapids were cleared for better navigation, use of the Oulujoki grew even more, especially by the 19th century. At its peak, over 30,000 barrels of tar were transported annually along the Oulujoki waterway.

In the late 1800s, steamship traffic began between Oulu and Muhos. The steamships served cargo transport, growing tourism, and Oulu residents traveling to their summer villas. Tourism on the Oulujoki flourished to the point that its rapid routes became among the most famous travel destinations in Finland. Visitors admired the majestic landscapes and rode the wild, free-flowing rapids.

The salmon-rich Oulujoki has long been well known. Salmon fishing was a key livelihood from the Middle Ages until the 19th century. The plentiful fishing waters brought extra income to locals, and as a renowned salmon river, the Oulujoki even attracted sport fishers from abroad, known as “salmon lords.”

 

Settlement Spreads Along the River – From an Old River Village to a Modern Landscape

By the early 20th century, traditional settlement along the Oulujoki had developed into a long belt of habitation following the contours of the land, the course of the river, and the old roads that traced the riverbanks. Houses, fields, and meadows lined up one after another along the waterway.

In the 1920s, a railway was built, and steamship traffic came to an end. Transportation increasingly shifted to railways and roads. From the 1940s and 1950s onward, hydropower plants became part of the river landscape, and today they are considered an integral part of the Oulujoki Valley’s cultural heritage. Yet, small rapids like Liimanninkoski and Isterinkoski on the Muhosjoki River still flow freely.

Sources:

Huurre, Matti ja Vahtola, Jouko 1991. Oulujokilaakson historia kivikaudelta vuoteen 1865. Hailuodon, Kempeleen, Limingan, Lumijoen, Muhoksen, Oulunsalon, Temmeksen, Tyrnävän, Utajärven ja Vaalan kunnat ja seurakunnat, Oulun kaupunki ja seurakunnat ja Oulujoki-Seura ry. Oulu. (s. 12—22, 27, 56–62, 74–78, 91–95, 106, 132, 141, 443)

Kiuttu, Mikko 2013. Rokua Geopark.

Mäkiniemi, Kaisa 2013–2015. Arvokkaat maisema-alueet Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla. Pohjois-Pohjanmaan valtakunnallisesti ja maakunnallisesti arvokkaiden maisema-alueiden päivitys- ja täydennysinventointi 2013–2015. Pohjois-Pohjanmaan liitto. Pohjois-Pohjanmaan maisematoimikunta.

Oulujokilaakson kulttuurimaisemat. Valtakunnallisesti arvokkaat maisema-alueet. Pohjois-Pohjanmaa. Ympäristöministeriö 2021.

Oulujoki Osakeyhtiö 1954. Entinen Oulujoki: historiikkia ja muistitietoa. (s. 14, 111, 173–174)

Topelius, Sakari 1875. Maamme kirja (Boken om vårt land).