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Waal (river)

River in the Netherlands

Field	Value
name	Waal
map	Location Waal.PNG
map_size	220
map_caption	Location of river Waal in dark blue.
pushpin_map_size	220
subdivision_type1	Country
subdivision_name1	Netherlands
subdivision_type2	State
subdivision_name2	Gelderland
subdivision_type3	Region
subdivision_name3	Betuwe, Rijk van Nijmegen, Land van Maas en Waal, Land van Altena
subdivision_type5	Cities
subdivision_name5	Nijmegen, Tiel, Zaltbommel, Gorinchem
length	80 km
discharge1_avg	1500 m3/s
source1	Rhine
source1_location	Millingen aan de Rijn, Gelderland, Netherlands
mouth	River Boven Merwede
mouth_location	Gorinchem, Gelderland/South Holland, Netherlands
tributaries_right	Linge

The Waal (Dutch name, ) is the main distributary branch of the river Rhine flowing approximately 80 km through the Netherlands. It is the major waterway connecting the port of Rotterdam to Germany. Before it reaches Rotterdam, it joins with the Afgedamde Maas near Woudrichem to form the Boven Merwede. Along its length, Nijmegen, Tiel, Zaltbommel and Gorinchem are towns of importance with direct access to the river.

The river, which is the main channel in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta system, carries 65% of the total flow of the Rhine.

History

The name Waal, in Roman times called Vacalis, Vahalis or Valis, later Vahal, is of Germanic origin and is named after the many meanders in the river (). It is, in turn, thought to have inspired early Dutch settlers of the Hudson Valley region in New York to name the Wallkill River after it (Waalkil "Waal Creek").

The current river shows little signs of these great bends, since it has been the subject of numerous normalisation projects carried out between the 18th and 20th centuries to improve the river as an economically important shipping route. Some of the cut-off bends are still visible near the main river and are sometimes reconnected to it in times of high water levels.

Bend in South Holland

In the Middle Ages, the name "Waal" continued after the confluence with the Meuse. The delta parts now known as Boven Merwede, Beneden Merwede and the upper section of the Noord were also called Waal. Near Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, the mainstream continued west until it flowed into Oude Maas near Heerjansdam. This last stretch past Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, which separated the river islands of IJsselmonde and Zwijndrechtse Waard, is still called Waal, but is more commonly known as Waaltje (Dutch for Little Waal). It has been dammed off at both ends, making the Zwijndrechtse Waard part of IJsselmonde.

River crossings

Road bridges

Showing nearest town:

Waalbrug, Nijmegen.
De Oversteek, Nijmegen.
, Ewijk.
, Beneden-Leeuwen.
replaced the , Zaltbommel.

Rail bridges

Showing nearest station on the left and right bank:

Nijmegen railway bridge, between Nijmegen and Lent.
, between Zaltbommel and Geldermalsen.

Water quality

The Waal has significant adverse water quality due to discharge of raw sewage by France and Germany. A number of pathogens have been monitored to occur in the river waters from such sewage.

References

(1942). "Van Goor's aardrijkskundig woordenboek van Nederland". Van Goor Zonen.
(15 April 2024). "Waalbrug".
(15 April 2024). "De Oversteek".
(15 April 2024). "Tacitusbrug".
(15 April 2024). "Prins Willem-Alexanderbrug".
(15 April 2024). "Martinus Nijhoffbrug".
(15 April 2024). "Spoorbrug Nijmegen".
(15 April 2024). "Spoorbrug Dr. Ir. W. Hupkes".
Lodder, W J. (March 2005). "Presence of Noroviruses and Other Enteric Viruses in Sewage and Surface Waters in The Netherlands". [[American Society for Microbiology]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

distributaries-of-europe rivers-of-the-rhine–meuse–scheldt-delta rivers-of-gelderland rivers-of-north-brabant rivers-of-south-holland nijmegen rivers-of-the-netherlands

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