Göta Älv

Göta älv (yö'tä ĕlv`), river, 56 mi (90 km) long, SW Sweden, draining Vänern lake into the Kattegat. It is part of the

Göta Canal, a 240-mi (386-km) system of rivers, lakes, and canals, which crosses S Sweden from Göteborg to Arkosund on the Baltic Sea and to Stockholm by way of the sea. The canals, which account for one half of the waterway's length, were opened in 1832 and ascend and descend c.300 ft (90 m) by means of 58 locks. The section that passes around the rapids at Trollhättan was modernized in 1916 to accommodate small oceangoing vessels.

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Göta Älv 

(Göta River), a river in southwestern Sweden. Length, 95 km; basin area, 50,000 sq km. Flows out of Vanern and into the Kattegat near Göteborg. The valley is confined to an ancient fault. The annual average discharge is 575 m³/sec, and the flow is evenly distributed. Waterfalls in the upper reaches of the river include the Trollhättan cascades (height 33 m) and other waterfalls at Lilla Edet (6.5 m) and Vargön (4.5 m). There are hydroelectric power plants, the largest of which is at Trollhättan. With the construction of the bypass canal at the Trollhättan falls, the Göta älv was made navigable over its entire length. The river forms a segment of the Göta Canal navigation route.

L. R. SEREBRIANNYI