Aura River (Finland)

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Aura River
Aura River in central Turku
Location
Country	Finland
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Oripää
Mouth
• location	Turku
Length	70 km (43 mi)
Basin size	885 km2 (342 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	7 m3/s (250 cu ft/s)

The Aura River (Finnish Aurajoki [ˈɑu̯rɑˌjoki]; Swedish Aura å) is a river in south-western Finland. It originates in Oripää, and it flows through Pöytyä, Aura, Lieto, and ultimately the city of Turku before discharging into the Archipelago Sea. The waters of the Aura river are brown. The total length of the river is about 70 kilometres (43 mi), and it contains eleven rapids, the biggest of which is Nautelankoski at Lieto. The reserve tap water for Turku Region is drawn from the Aura, the city's secondary waterworks being situated by the Halinen rapids.^[1]

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.^[2] Situated in an agricultural zone, it is made turbid by surface runoff from nearby farms with eutrophication as the biggest threat. Its condition has been improving since the 1970s and the Aura river is now clean enough to support salmon.

The banks of the river have been inhabited for at least 6,000 years. The area is notable for the cultural heritage in Finland. The archdiocese of Finland has been situated near the river since the thirteenth century.