Espedalen

{{short description|Valley in Innlandet, Norway}}

{{Infobox valley

|name = Espedalen

|other_name =

|photo = Ruten Fjellstue sommer.jpg

|photo_width =

|photo_caption = Ruten Fjellstue in the Espedalen valley

|map = Innlandet#Norway

|map_width =

|map_alt =

|map_caption = Location of the valley

|label =

|label_position = bottom

|coordinates = {{coord|61.4263|9.4944|region:NO_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

|location = Innlandet, Norway

|elevation_m =

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|direction =

|length = {{convert|18|km}}

|width =

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|type = River valley

|river =

|age =

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}}

Espedalen is a valley in the Sør-Fron and Gausdal municipalities of Innlandet county, Norway. The {{convert|18|km|adj=on}} long valley is a continuation of the Gausdalen valley, which itself is a side valley that branches off of the main Gudbrandsdal valley in Eastern Norway.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://snl.no/Espedalen|title=Espedalen|editor-first=Geir|editor-last=Thorsnæs|accessdate=2022-06-12|date=2022-02-08|encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon |publisher=Kunnskapsforlaget|language=Norwegian}}

File:Espedalen Mountain Church.jpg]]

Espedalen was a mining region for copper dating to the 1600s with nickel mining introduced in the 1880s. At the north end of the lake {{Ill|Espedalsvatnet|no|Espedalsvatnet (Sør-Fron)}} are the remains of smelting and mining settlements from that time.

Espedalen Chapel was built in 1974 to serve the local population.{{Cite web |title=Espedalen Mountain Church (Espedalen, Norway) |url=http://www.dalseter.no/engelsk-web/mountainchurch.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325004839/http://www.dalseter.no/engelsk-web/mountainchurch.html |archive-date=2012-03-25 |access-date=2011-06-06}}[http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Product/?pid=70920 Espedalen mountain church and gravholmen (VisitNorway.com)] Peer Gynt Road (Peer Gyntveien) is a {{convert|60|km|mi}} long private tourist road that runs from Svingvoll in Gausdal to Ruten in Espedalen.[http://www.peergyntvegen.no/pdf_filer/pgv2006_low.pdf Peer Gyntveien (Peer Gynt AS0]