Waal
Encyclopedia
Distributary
A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. They are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary is a tributary...
branch of river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
Rhine flowing to the central Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
for about 80 km (49.7 mi) before joining the Meuse near Woudrichem
Woudrichem
Woudrichem is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands.- Population centres :Almkerk, Andel, Bronkhorst, Duizend Morgen, Eng, Giessen, Oudendijk, Rijswijk, Stenenheul, Uitwijk, Uppel, Waardhuizen, Woudrichem and Zandwijk....
to form the Boven Merwede. It is a major river which serves as the main waterway connecting the Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
harbor and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Nijmegen, Tiel
Tiel
' is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands.The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river on the south and the north side, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal on the east side. The city was founded in the 5th century AD....
, Zaltbommel
Zaltbommel
Zaltbommel is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. The town of Zaltbommel was first mentioned as "Bomela" in the year 850. Zaltbommel first received city status in 1231, which status was renewed in 1316....
and Gorinchem
Gorinchem
Gorinchem , also called Gorkum , is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 21.99 km² of which 3.03 km² is water...
are towns of importance with direct access to the river. The river carries 65% of the total flow of the Rhine.
In 1915 the so-called Nijmegen Helmet
Nijmegen Helmet
The Nijmegen Helmet is an Ancient Roman helmet, found in a gravel bed on the left bank of Waal river, near the Dutch town of Nijmegen in 1915. The helmet would have been worn by the elite Roman cavalry. The head portion of the helmet is made of iron, while the mask and diadem are of bronze or brass...
was found on the river's left bank.
History
The name Waal, in RomanRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times called Vacalis, Vahalis or Valis, later Vahal, is of Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
origin and is named after the many meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
s in the river (Old Germanic: wôh = crooked). It is, in turn, thought to have inspired early Dutch settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s of the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
region in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to name the Wallkill River
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....
after it (Waalkil = "Waal Creek
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
").
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.
Bend in South Holland
In the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the name "Waal" continued after the confluence with River Meuse
Meuse River
The Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
. The delta parts now known as Boven Merwede, Beneden Merwede
Beneden Merwede
The Beneden Merwede is a stretch of river in the Netherlands, the continuation of the Boven Merwede after the branching-off of the Nieuwe Merwede ship canal. It flows from Hardinxveld-Giessendam to Dordrecht, where it splits into the Noord and Oude Maas rivers. Its length is 14.9 km...
and the upper section of river Noord
Noord (river)
The Noord is a short tidal river in South Holland, Netherlands.It starts at the city of Dordrecht where the Beneden Merwede river forks into the Oude Maas and the Noord. It joins the Lek at the city of Ridderkerk and Kinderdijk, and the combined stream is thereafter known as the Nieuwe Maas. The...
were also called Waal. Near Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht
Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht
Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands. It is located in the Dutch province of South Holland, on the island of IJsselmonde, and borders with Zwijndrecht, Ridderkerk, and the Noord River. The jurisdiction of the municipality covers an area of 11.99 km² of...
, the main stream continued west until it flowed into River Oude Maas
Oude Maas
The Oude Maas is a distributary of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River, in the Dutch province of South Holland. It begins at the city of Dordrecht where the Beneden Merwede river splits into the Noord River and the Oude Maas...
near Heerjansdam
Heerjansdam
Heerjansdam is a village in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It has a population of 3,590. It is a former municipality that merged with Zwijndrecht in 2003.-History:...
. This last stretch past Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, which separates the river islands
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of IJsselmonde and Zwijndrechtse Waard, still is called Waal. It has been dammed off at both ends.
Railroad bridges
Railroad bridges (with nearest train station on the left and right bank):- between Nijmegen and Nijmegen Lent
- between ZaltbommelZaltbommelZaltbommel is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. The town of Zaltbommel was first mentioned as "Bomela" in the year 850. Zaltbommel first received city status in 1231, which status was renewed in 1316....
and GeldermalsenGeldermalsenGeldermalsen is a municipality and a town in the western Netherlands. The municipality of Geldermalsen was formed on the 1st of January 1978 when former municipalities Beesd, Buurmalsen, Deil and Geldermalsen were joined. The new municipality with approximately 10.173 hectares is one of the...
Water quality
The Waal has significant adverse water quality due to discharge of raw sewageSewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. A number of pathogens have been monitored to occur in the river waters from such sewage.