The Aura River ( Finnish ''Aurajoki'' ; Swedish ''Aura å'') is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in south-western

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It originates in

Oripää Oripää () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . ...

, and it flows through Pöytyä, Aura,

Lieto Lieto (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, city and municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a populatio ...

, and ultimately the city of

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

before discharging into the

Archipelago Sea The Archipelago Sea (, ) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the List of archipelagos by number of islands, larges ...

. The waters of the Aura river are brown. The total length of the river is about , and it contains eleven

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

, the biggest of which is Nautelankoski at Lieto. The reserve

tap water Tap water (also known as running water, piped water or municipal water) is water supplied through a Tap (valve), tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used f ...

for Turku Region is drawn from the Aura, the city's secondary waterworks being situated by the Halinen rapids. The word "Aura" appears to come from an archaic Swedish word for waterway (''aathra'', which is still current in the form ''ådra''), but in Finnish it translates as "plough," a name the river lives up to. Situated in an agricultural zone, it is made turbid by

surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to ''channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...

from nearby farms with

eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

as the biggest threat. Its condition has been improving since the 1970s and the Aura river is now clean enough to support

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

. The banks of the river have been inhabited for at least 6,000 years. The area is notable for the

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

in Finland. The

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

of Finland has been situated near the river since the thirteenth century.

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References

Rivers of Finland Turku Aura, Finland Drainage basins of the Baltic Sea Landforms of Southwest Finland Tourist attractions in Turku {{Finland-river-stub

Gallery

See also

References