Editing Göta älv

{{Short description|River in Sweden}}{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = {{Lang|sv|Göta älv|italic=no}}
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Trollhattefallen.jpg
| image_size         = 200px
| image_caption      = [[Trollhättan Falls]] in {{Lang|sv|Göta älv|italic=no}} in July 2004
| map                = Gota alv sweden.png
| map_caption        = Position of the {{Lang|sv|Göta älv|italic=no}}
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = [[Sweden]]
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|93|km|mi|abbr=on}}<sup>1</sup> 
| discharge1_avg     = {{convert|575|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name=ne />
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = [[Vänern]]
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|58|22|49|N|12|21|30|E|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation  = {{convert|44|m|abbr=on}}
| mouth              = [[Kattegat]]
| mouth_location     = [[Gothenburg]]
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|57|41|35|N|11|54|30|E|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    = {{convert|0|m|abbr=on}}
| basin_size         = {{convert|50229.3|km2|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web | title=Län och huvudavrinningsområden i Sverige | url=http://www.smhi.se/sgn0102/n0205/lan_haro_huvud.pdf | language=sv | publisher=[[Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute]] | access-date=11 July 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928202529/http://www.smhi.se/sgn0102/n0205/lan_haro_huvud.pdf | archive-date=28 September 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref>
| custom_label       = Designation
| custom_data        = {{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_offname = Nordre älvs estuarium
| designation1_date = 14 November 2001
| designation1_number = 1125<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nordre älvs estuarium|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1125|access-date=25 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528051849/https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1125|archive-date=28 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| extra              = 1: 720 km including [[Klarälven]] and [[Vänern]]<ref name=ne>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Göta älv | encyclopedia=[[Nationalencyklopedin]] | url=http://www.ne.se/göta-älv | language=sv | access-date=11 July 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807092344/http://www.ne.se/g%C3%B6ta-%C3%A4lv | archive-date=7 August 2011 | url-status=live }}{{Subscription required}}</ref>
}}
The '''{{Lang|sv|Göta älv|italic=no}}''' ({{IPA|sv|ˈjø̌ːta ˈɛlv}}; "River of (the) [[Geats]]") is a river that drains lake [[Vänern]] into the [[Kattegat]], at the city of [[Gothenburg]], on the western coast of Sweden. It was formed at the end of [[Weichselian glaciation|the last glaciation]], as an outflow channel from the [[Baltic Ice Lake]] to the Atlantic Ocean and nowadays it has the largest [[drainage basin]] in [[Scandinavia]].

The {{Lang|sv|Göta älv|italic=no}} is located in [[Götaland]], with the river itself being a site of early [[Geats|Geatish]] settlement. Its length is {{cvt|93|km}}. The [[Bohus Fortress]] is located by the river at [[Kungälv]]. There the river splits into two, with the northern part being the '''Nordre älv''' and the southern part keeping the name {{Lang|sv|Göta älv|italic=no}}; the two arms of the river enclose the island of [[Hisingen]].

At [[Trollhättan]] there is a [[dam]], [[canal lock]]s and a [[hydropower]] station in the river. The locks make the river navigable, even for large cargo vessels ({{cvt|88|m|disp=sqbr}} long). The artificial parts are called [[Trollhätte Canal]]. The river and the canal is part of a mostly inland waterway, [[Göta Canal]], which spans the width of Sweden to the [[Baltic Sea]] south of [[Stockholm]].

The power station supplied electric power to the heavy [[steel industry]] concentrated around [[Trollhättan Falls]], contributing to its [[Industrial Revolution]]. In the summer months the spillway of the dam is opened for a few minutes daily and [[tourist]]s gather to see the water rushing down the river (picture).

There are concerns about whether the maximum permitted discharge of {{cvt|1000|m3/s}} is enough in a scenario where heavy rain floods the lake Vänern, causing considerable damage. Previously this was thought not to be possible in reality, but in 2001 the lake was flooded almost {{cvt|1|m|ft|0}} above maximum level (and some upstream lakes like [[Glafsfjorden]] flooded {{cvt|3|m|ft|0|disp=sqbr}}). In this situation, {{Lang|sv|Göta älv|italic=no}} was allowed a discharge of {{cvt|1100|m3/s}} for months causing a big risk of landslides. Now a water tunnel between Vänersborg and Uddevalla is considered as a rescue solution.

There is a large risk of landslides along the river and historical records of 15 landslides exist. The largest occurred in the years 1150, 1648, 1950, 1957 and 1977 ([[Tuve landslide]]).

==Name in other languages==
In [[Old Norse]] the river was called the ''Gautelfr'';<ref>Richard Cleasby and Gudbrand Vigfusson, ''An Icelandic-English Dictionary'', 2nd edn by William A. Craigie (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1957), s.v. ''Gautar''.</ref> in [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] it is ''Gautelfur''; and in Norwegian it is sometimes rendered as ''Gøtelv''.

==See also==
* [[Name of the Goths]]
* [[Yngen lake]]
* [[Torrgårdsvatten]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{EB1911 Poster|Göta}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gota Alv}}
[[Category:Götaland]]
[[Category:Gothenburg]]
[[Category:Hisingen]]
[[Category:Bohuslän]]
[[Category:Rivers of Västra Götaland County]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Sweden]]