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| Gauja | |
|---|---|
 The Ērgļu cliffs, aDevonian sandstone formation, along the Gauja River | |
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| Location | |
| Countries | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Vidzeme Highland |
| • elevation | 234 metres (768 ft) |
| Mouth | Gulf of Riga |
• location | Carnikava |
• coordinates | 57°09′33″N24°15′59″E / 57.1593°N 24.2663°E /57.1593; 24.2663 |
| Length | 452 kilometres (281 mi) |
| Basin size | 9,800 km2 (3,800 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 71 m3/s (2,500 cu ft/s) |
TheGauja River (Estonian:Koiva jõgi,German:Livländische Aa) is a river in theVidzeme region ofLatvia.[1] 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 inGauja National Park. In this part, the Gauja River flows through theGauja Valley, which is between 1 and 2.5 km wide, and the maximum depth nearSigulda is 85 m. Thus, the Gauja is the longest river of Latvia if only the parts of the river in the country's territory are counted. The Daugava has only 367 km in Latvia, whereas the entire length of the river is over 1,000 km.
The sandstone rocks on the banks of the Gauja and its adjoining rivers started forming 370 to 300 million years ago, during theDevonian period.
Before the 13th century, the Gauja River used to serve as a trade route and border river between theLivonian andLatgalian 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 calledKoivo (theBirch River;Livoniankeùv orEstoniankõiv). 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 theGreat Northern War and suffered a plague in the 18th century. That was the period when the remaining Livonians assimilated with theLatvians.
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 inGauja 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 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.
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