River · Sweden
Göta älv (Klarälven)
Göta älv is the longest river system of Sweden. Counted together with the Klarälven above Lake Vänern, it crosses the south of the country and empties into the Kattegat at Gothenburg.
Picture credit: Alicia Fagerving (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Hjwk (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Sinikka Halme (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Göta älv (Klarälven)?
The river starts here: mountain streams near Femunden in Norway, where the Klarälven begins.
It ends in the Kattegat at Gothenburg.
Countries on the river: Sweden.
The story behind it
This water has two names and that causes an argument about its length: above Lake Vänern it is called Klarälven, below the lake Göta älv, and the highest streams even begin in Norway, so different books count different parts. The Klarälven comes down through pine forest in wide curves; for a long time loggers floated timber on it, and old people still remember the logs bumping along. Then the water rests in Vänern, the biggest lake of the European Union, before rushing on towards the sea. Salmon climb the river, and fish ladders help them past the power stations. At Trollhättan huge locks lift ships around waterfalls that once turned mills. In Gothenburg the river flows through the harbour and finally reaches the salty Kattegat.
Questions children ask
How long is the Göta älv?
Around 746 km when the Klarälven above Lake Vänern is counted as part of the same river. The Göta älv alone, below the lake, is much shorter.
Which countries does the Göta älv flow through?
Where does the Göta älv flow into?
Into the Kattegat at Gothenburg. The last kilometres run straight through the harbour of Sweden's second largest city, past cranes and ferries.
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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