Waal River

Geobox River
name = Waal

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image_size = 220
image_caption = Edited satellite image of the Rhine-Waal fork, showing the beginning of river Waal (green).
country = The Netherlands
state = Gelderland
region = Betuwe
region1 = Rijk van Nijmegen
region2 = Land van Maas en Waal
region3 = Land van Altena
city = Nijmegen
city1 = Tiel
city2 = Zaltbommel
city3 = Gorinchem
length = 80
source_name = River Rhine
source_location = Millingen aan de Rijn
source_state = Gelderland
source_country = The Netherlands
mouth_name = River Boven Merwede
mouth_location = Gorinchem
mouth_state = Gelderland/South Holland
mouth_country = The Netherlands
tributary_right = Linge


map_size = 220
map_caption = Location of river Waal in dark blue.River Waal is the main distributary branch of river Rhine flowing to the central Netherlands for about 80 km (50 miles) before joining the Meuse near Woudrichem to form the Boven Merwede. It is a major river which serves as the main waterway connecting the Rotterdam harbor and Germany. Nijmegen, Tiel, Zaltbommel and Gorinchem are towns of importance with direct access to the river. The river 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 (Old Germanic: wôh = crooked). 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 the river has been the subject of numerous normalisation projects carried out in the 18th, 19th 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.

The Waal bend in South Holland

In the Middle Ages, the name "Waal" continued after the confluence with River Meuse. The delta parts now known as Boven Merwede, Beneden Merwede and the upper section of river Noord were also called Waal. Near Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, the main stream continued west until it flowed into River Oude Maas near Heerjansdam. This last stretch past Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, which separates the river islands of IJsselmonde and Zwijndrechtse Waard, still is called Waal [cite book |last=ter Laan |first=K. et al. ed.|title=Van Goor's aardrijkskundig woordenboek van Nederland |year=1942 |publisher=Van Goor Zonen |location=Den Haag|language=Dutch ] . It has been dammed off at both ends.

River crossings

Railroad bridges

Railroad bridges (with nearest train station on the left and right bank):

*between Nijmegen and Nijmegen Lent
*between Zaltbommel and Geldermalsen

Water quality

The Waal has significant adverse water quality due to discharge of raw sewage by France, Germany and Belgium. A number of pathogens have been monitored to occur in the river waters from such sewage. [cite journal |last= Lodder|first= W J|coauthors= de Roda Husman, A M|year= 2005|month= March|title= Presence of Noroviruses and Other Enteric Viruses in Sewage and Surface Waters in The Netherlands|journal= Applied and Environmental Microbiology|volume= 71|issue= 3|pages= 1453–1461|issn= 0099-2240|oclc= 205246645|doi= 10.1128/AEM.71.3.1453-1461.2005|pmid= 15746348|id= BL Shelfmark 1571.440000|url= http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/71/3/1453|publisher= American Society for Microbiology|accessdate= 2008-05-20|quote= ]

References