River
Göta älv
95 km from source to mouth · Sweden.
SwedenFlows into Kattegat
In numbers
Length
95km
Average flow
570m³/s
Basin
50,229km²
Drop
44m
from 40 m to -4 m
Country
1
The journey
From source to mouth
95 km of river and 48 stops on the way: 20 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.
- 0 kmVänernat 40 m
- 2 kmVänersborg23,119 people
- 3 kmVänern5,486 km²
- 5 kmVargön4,981 people
- 5 kmVargön Hydroelectric Power Station
- 13 kmStallbackabron
- 15 kmBjörndalen1,073 people
- 16 kmTrollhättan Railway bridge
- 17 kmSpikö bridge
- 17 kmTrollhättan50,069 people
- 17 kmTrollhättan Municipality59,146 people
- 17 kmStrömkarlsbron
- 17 kmNolströmmen
- 18 kmTrollhättan Falls
- 18 kmStampeström fall
- 18 kmOscar's Bridge
- 18 kmBrudslöjan
- 18 kmHell's cataracts
- 18 kmOlidan Hydroelectric Power Station
- 36 kmHjärtum401 people
- 41 kmLilla Edet västra1,622 people
- 41 kmLilla Edets sluss
- 42 kmLilla Edetbron
- 42 kmLilla Edet3,907 people
- 46 kmGöta1,270 people
- 46 kmRyrsjön0.7 km²
- 54 kmRåkärr1.1 km²
- 55 kmLödöse1,895 people
- 65 kmÄlvängen6,634 people
- 68 kmGrönåntributary
- 71 kmDiseröd1,328 people
- 74 kmVimmersjön0.3 km²
- 75 kmNödinge6,106 people
- 79 kmSurte6,530 people
- 79 kmJordfallsbron
- 80 kmBohus Fortress
- 81 kmKungälv24,101 people
- 84 kmAgnesberg1,461 people
- 84 kmAngeredsbron
- 95 kmHisingsbron
- 95 kmMarieholmstunneln
- 95 kmGötaälvbron
- 95 kmGothenburg674,529 people
- 95 kmÄlvsborg Bridge
- 95 kmTingstadstunneln
- 95 kmGothenburg Municipality614,165 people
- 95 kmHisingen141,199 people
- 95 kmNolvik1,373 people
- 95 kmSäveåntributary
- 95 kmKattegatat -4 m
Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.
River in Sweden; with the Klarälven, the longest river system in the Nordic countries
At the mouth it carries 570 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 4.4 seconds. It drops from 40 m to -4 m, 0.5 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 50,229 km², about the size of CR. 875,000 people live in it. Highest water: from April to May; lowest: from January to February. It is heavily dammed: reservoirs can hold 55% of a year's flow.
Where to start
- GothenburgLargest city on its banks · 674,529 people
- Göteborg Landvetter Airport (GOT)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 19 km from the cityCar hire at AAL airport (Aalborg)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- On the water20 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
- From June to AugustThe best months to visit
Göta älv, month by month
Highest water: from April to May
Lowest water: from January to February. Best months to visit: from June to August.
From about 550 m³/s in the lowest month to 650 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.
Plan the trip
Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The basin
Göta älv: the basin in numbers
49,848 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.
- 875,000people live in the basin
- 19/km²people per km²
- 244maverage altitude of the basin
- 690mmof rain a year (basin average)
- 4.6°Caverage air temperature
- 7%protected areas
- 17.6%covered by lakes
- 10km³held in reservoirs
What covers the basin
- 64% Forest
- 10% Cropland
- 1% Pasture
- 1% Towns and cities
RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.
Along the river
Göta älv: what you find on the way
- 6WeirsOrmo skärmanläggning and 5 more
- 7LocksGöta älv and 6 more
- 5WaterfallsByklevsfallet, Trollhättefallen, Tjuvfallet and 2 more
- 10Boat ramps
- 3Ferry piersKornhallsleden
- 7MarinasNödinge båtklubb, Slättens hamn, Varvet i Sjöhed and 4 more
- 6River beachesNordkrokens badplats and 5 more
From OpenStreetMap, within 2.2 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Göta älv in our other atlases
What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.
5waterfalls on the riverCascadyas
4lakes on its wayLakeyas
15beaches at the mouth and on the banksCoastya
26islands off the mouthIslandyas
Waterfalls (5)
On the river, by Cascadyas
- Nolströmmenkm 16
- Trollhättan Fallskm 16
- Stampeström fallkm 16
- Brudslöjankm 17
- Hell's cataractskm 17
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Lakes and reservoirs (4)
Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas
- Vänernkm 3 · 106 m deep5,486km²
- Ryrsjönkm 43 · 10 m deep0.7km²
- Råkärrkm 501.1km²
- Vimmersjönkm 68 · 4 m deep0.3km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
Beaches (15)
At the mouth (25 km) and on the banks, by Coastya
- Björlanda Kile5.2 km away · cove18.0°C
- Förstugan20 km away · cove18.0°C
- Hälleviken13 km away · cove18.1°C
- Ganlebukten19 km away · cove18.2°C
- Myraviken20 km away · cove18.2°C
- Båleviken17 km away · cove18.1°C
- Södra Hästeviken12 km away · cove18.1°C
- Norra Hästeviken11 km away · cove18.1°C
7 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
Islands off the mouth (26)
Within 30 km of the mouth, by Islandyas
- Öckerö15 km away11km²
- Brännö18 km away1.9km²
- Donsö23 km away
- Tjörn27 km away147km²
- Asperö17 km away0.4km²
- Hönö19 km away
- Hälsö13 km away
- Fotö18 km away0.4km²
18 more on IslandyasIslandyas is coming soonOpen Islandyas ↗
From space
The source and the mouth, seen from orbit
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.
Photos
Göta älv in pictures
Tributaries
Where it flows, and what flows into it
Tributaries (5)
Also: Säveån, Mölndalsån, Grönån, Slumpån, Kvillebäcken
In the same basin
Nearby
Rivers nearby
Norway604 km720 m³/s164 km awayNissanSweden200 km41 m³/s140 km awayNumedalslågenNorway358 km96 m³/s173 km awayKlarälvenSweden460 km160 m³/s200 km awayOtraNorway245 km150 m³/s230 km awayDrammenselvaNorway48 km310 m³/s235 km awayMotala strömSweden100 km100 m³/s273 km awayÖsterdal RiverSweden300 km150 m³/s358 km awayWhere these numbers come from
| Name, length, places | Wikidata (Q214748) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Course, profile, basin | RiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata |
| Flow | WaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate along the river | WorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Towns, bridges, dams | Wikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Along the river | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Our other atlases | Cascadyas, Lakeyas, Coastya, Islandyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every source and licence is on the data sources page.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit