Göta älv

Göta älv
River
Trollhättan Falls in Göta älv
Countries	Sweden, Norway
Source	Vänern
- elevation	44 m (144 ft)
- coordinates	58°22′49″N 12°21′30″E / 58.38028°N 12.35833°E / 58.38028; 12.35833
Mouth	Kattegat
- location	Gothenburg
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
- coordinates	57°41′35″N 11°54′30″E / 57.69306°N 11.90833°E / 57.69306; 11.90833Coordinates: 57°41′35″N 11°54′30″E / 57.69306°N 11.90833°E / 57.69306; 11.90833
Length	93 km (58 mi) 1
Basin	50,229.3 km2 (19,394 sq mi)
Discharge
- average	575 m3/s (20,306 cu ft/s)
Position of the Göta älv
1: 720 km including Klarälven and Vänern

The Göta älv (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈjøːta 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 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 Göta älv is located in Götaland, with the river itself being a site of early Geatish settlement. The length is 93 km. Usually the combination of Göta älv and Klarälven (a river ending at Vänern) is considered to be one river system. This combination is the longest river in the Nordic countries, 750 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 Göta älv.

At Trollhättan there is a dam, canal locks and a hydropower station in the river. The locks make the river navigable, even for large cargo vessels (88 m 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 .