River · Sweden
Dalälven
The Dalälven is one of the longest rivers in Sweden. Its two branches, the East and the West Dal River, come from the uplands of north-west Dalarna, meet at Djurås and then flow on together to the Baltic Sea.
Picture credit: Holger.Ellgaard (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Robande (CC BY 3.0) · Robande (CC BY 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Dalälven?
The river starts here: Confluence of Österdalälven and Västerdalälven at Djurås, Dalarna.
It ends in the Bothnian Sea (Baltic Sea) at Skutskär.
Countries on the river: Sweden.
The story behind it
The East Dal River flows through Lake Siljan, one of the biggest lakes in Sweden. For hundreds of years the Dalälven was a road for wood: from about 1600, people floated tree trunks down the river. In 1952 about 30 million logs made the journey, but around 1970 the log floating came to an end. Today the river's power is used in another way: many hydropower stations turn the falling water into electricity, and the largest is Trängslet. Further downstream the river spreads out into wide, shallow lakes with about 200 islands. This is Färnebofjärden National Park, where moose, beavers and lynx live and more than 200 kinds of birds have been seen. The park's symbol is the Ural owl. The Dalälven even appears in a famous children's book: tiny Nils Holgersson, who flies across Sweden on the back of a goose, visits the river in one chapter.
Questions children ask
How long is the Dalälven?
The Dalälven is about 542 km long, measured from the source of its eastern branch to the sea. Depending on how it is measured, some sources give a little less, over 520 km.
Where does the Dalälven flow into the sea?
It flows into the Bothnian Sea, a part of the Baltic Sea, at Skutskär. Just before that, its water tumbles down the Älvkarleby falls.
Why were logs floated on the Dalälven?
For hundreds of years, the river carried tree trunks from the forests downstream. The peak came in 1952 with about 30 million logs, and around 1970 the log floating stopped.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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