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The Gauja River ( et, Koiva jõgi, german: Livländische Aa) is a river in the
The Gauja River tends to change its bed rapidly, and has gained the reputation of being deceitful. The bed of the river is made of unconsolidated sand and gravel deposits that move along with the current. In some places, the bed is pebbly, forming boulder rapids: Kazu, Raiskuma, Rakšu, and Ķūķu. The bottom of the river in Gauja National Park is 60 to 120 meters wide with a rapidly changing depth from 0.3 m to 7 m. The decline is 0.5 m/km. The speed of flow during low water is 0.2 to 0.4 m/s, and during the spring water period 2 to 3 m/s. Due to the fluctuations in water level, current speed, and special flow features, the Gauja River may be characterized as a rather non-homogeneous watercourse.
Usually the Gauja River freezes over in the mid-December, and the ice starts moving in late March. During warm winters, the river does not freeze over. Much underground water flows into the Gauja River. It therefore has a lower water temperature than other large rivers in Latvia.
The Gauja River ( et, Koiva jõgi, german: Livländische Aa) is a river in the Vidzeme
Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in ...
region of Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
. It is the only large river of Latvia that begins and ends its flow in Latvia. Its length is 460 km, of which 93.5 km (approximately one-fifth) are in the Gauja National Park. In this part, the Gauja River flows through the Gauja valley, which is 1 to 2.5 km wide, and the maximum depth near Sigulda
Sigulda (; german: Segewold, pl, Zygwold, russian: Сигулда) is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, from the capital city Riga.
Overview
Sigulda is on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish De ...
is 85 m. Thus, Gauja is the longest river of Latvia when we count only the parts of the river in the country's territory. Daugava has only 367 km in Latvia, while the whole river is over 1000 km.
The sandstone rocks on the banks of the Gauja and its adjoining rivers started forming 370 to 300 million years ago during the Devonian period
The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, w ...
.
History
Before the 13th century, the Gauja River used to serve as a trade route and border river between the Livonian and Latgalian lands. In some territories, they used to live mixed together. When Livonian languages were still present along the Gauja River and the sea, it used to be called ''Koivo'' (theBirch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' cont ...
River; Livonian ''keùv'' or Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also
*
...
''kõiv''). In Latvian, the name of the Gauja River used to mean 'a great amount', 'a crowd', and was therefore called the 'big river'. The Livonians suffered greatly during the Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swe ...
and suffered a plague in the 18th century. That was the period when the remaining Livonians assimilated with the Latvians
Latvians ( lv, latvieši) are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common L ...
.
Today
The Gauja River tends to change its bed rapidly, and has gained the reputation of being deceitful. The bed of the river is made of unconsolidated sand and gravel deposits that move along with the current. In some places, the bed is pebbly, forming boulder rapids: Kazu, Raiskuma, Rakšu, and Ķūķu. The bottom of the river in Gauja National Park is 60 to 120 meters wide with a rapidly changing depth from 0.3 m to 7 m. The decline is 0.5 m/km. The speed of flow during low water is 0.2 to 0.4 m/s, and during the spring water period 2 to 3 m/s. Due to the fluctuations in water level, current speed, and special flow features, the Gauja River may be characterized as a rather non-homogeneous watercourse.
Usually the Gauja River freezes over in the mid-December, and the ice starts moving in late March. During warm winters, the river does not freeze over. Much underground water flows into the Gauja River. It therefore has a lower water temperature than other large rivers in Latvia.
See also
* Gauja Estonians * Gauja Formation * Gauja ValleyReferences
{{Authority control Rivers of Estonia Rivers of Latvia International rivers of Europe Gulf of Riga Drainage basins of the Baltic Sea Estonia–Latvia border Border rivers