| Kolbäcksån | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Sweden |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | Mälaren |
| - coordinates | 59°30′30″N16°15′30″E / 59.50833°N 16.25833°E Coordinates: 59°30′30″N16°15′30″E / 59.50833°N 16.25833°E |
| Length | 180 km (110 mi) [1] |
| Discharge | |
| - average | 27 m3/s (950 cu ft/s) [1] |
| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 3,100 km2 (1,200 sq mi) [1] |
Kolbäcksån is a river located in Bergslagen in the middle of Sweden. It is about 180 kilometres long, arises in the province Dalarna and flows through the province of Västmanland into the Mälaren. The river drains an area of approximately 3,100 km2 and has an average discharge of 27 m3/s. The city of Fagersta lies on the river and the Strömsholm Canal follows the river about 100 kilometres.
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of water. Small rivers can be referred to using names such as stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill. There are no official definitions for the generic term river as applied to geographic features, although in some countries or communities a stream is defined by its size. Many names for small rivers are specific to geographic location; examples are "run" in some parts of the United States, "burn" in Scotland and northeast England, and "beck" in northern England. Sometimes a river is defined as being larger than a creek, but not always: the language is vague.
Bergslagen is a historically, culturally, and linguistically distinct mining district located north of Lake Mälaren in northern Svealand, Sweden. In Bergslagen mining and metallurgic industry have been important since the Middle Ages. The region is to be distinguished from Malmfälten, the mining district of northernmost Sweden centered at the towns of Kiruna and Malmberget, that has been of greater importance during the 20th century.
Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund, a strait at the Swedish-Danish border. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe, the third-largest country in the European Union and the fifth largest country in Europe by area. Sweden has a total population of 10.2 million of which 2.5 million has a foreign background. It has a low population density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre (57/sq mi). The highest concentration is in the southern half of the country.
