Global InformationOlona information
| Olona | |
|---|---|
 The Olona river in Legnano | |
  Location of the mouth of Olona river in Italy | |
| Native name | Olona (Italian) |
| Location | |
| Country | Italy |
| Regions | Lombardy |
| Provinces | Province of Varese Metropolitan City of Milan |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Rasa di Varese |
| • location | Varese, Lombardy, Italy |
| • coordinates | 45°51′20″N 8°49′23″E / 45.85556°N 8.82306°E |
| • elevation | 548 m (1,798 ft) |
| Mouth | Lambro Meridionale |
• location | Milan, Lombardy, Italy |
• coordinates | 45°26′52″N 9°9′22″E / 45.44778°N 9.15611°E |
• elevation | 113 m (371 ft) |
| Length | 71 km (44 mi) |
| Basin size | 1,038 km2 (401 sq mi) |
| Width | |
| • minimum | 5 m (16 ft) |
| • average | 8 m (26 ft) |
| • maximum | 18 m (59 ft) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 14 m3/s (490 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 7 m3/s (250 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 18 m3/s (640 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Lambro Meridionale→ Lambro→ Po→ Adriatic Sea |
| Waterfalls | Cascate di Valganna |
| Average slope | 6 ‰ |
The Olona (Olona in Italian; Ulona,[1] Urona or Uòna[2] in Western Lombard) is an Italian river belonging to the Po Basin, 71 kilometres (44 mi) long,[3][4][5] that runs through the Province of Varese and Metropolitan City of Milan whose course is developed entirely in Lombardy.
The river born at 548 meters above sea level in the Fornaci della Riana locality at the Rasa of Varese, at the Sacro Monte di Varese, within the Campo dei Fiori Regional Park.[6][7] After crossing the Valle Olona and the Alto Milanese, the Olona reaches Rho where it pours part of its water into the Canale Scolmatore Nord Ovest.[8] After passing Pero, the river enters in Milan, where, at the exit of its underground route, it flows into the Lambro Meridionale, that flows into the Lambro at Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, in the quartier of San Cristoforo ending its course.[9] Along the way, the water system formed by the Olona and the Lambro Meridionale crosses or laps 45 towns receiving the water of 19 tributaries.[10]
The Olona is known for the waterfalls and caves of Valganna and for having been one of the most polluted rivers in Italy. The valley carved by the river, thanks to the system of water wheels that exploited the driving force originated by the water, was one of the cradles of Italian industrialization.[11] The Olona river consortium (it. Consorzio del fiume Olona), that is founded in 1606, is the oldest irrigation consortium in Italy.[12]
The river is sometimes also referred to as "northern Olona" for the homonymy with another Olona, who was born in Bornasco and flows into the Po after having crossed the Province of Pavia. This second Olona, in turn, is designated as "inferior" or "southern".[13] The homonymy is not of imitative or etymological origin, but it is due to the fact that originally it was two trunks of the same river, diverted by the ancient Romans in its upper stretch towards Milan to bring water to the moat of the defensive walls of the city.[14]
- ^ "Catalogo editoriale 2003-2014" (PDF). Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ Urona and Uòna are the two toponyms that refer to the river, respectively in Legnanese dialect and bustocco. See the text of D'Ilario (1984) on p. 186.
- ^ "Regione Lombardia - ARPA - Il fiume Olona - Inquadramento ambientale" (PDF). Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ "Regione Lombardia - ARPA - Contratto di fiume Olona Bozzente Lura - Rapporto del primo anno di lavoro" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ "Valleolona - Il Fiume Olona: Carta d'identità". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ Macchione 1998, p. 19.
- ^ "Valleolona - Il Fiume Olona: Storia". Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ "Legambiente Lombardia - L'Olona". ita.arpalombardia.it. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ "Metropolitana Milanese - Il funzionamento degli impianti di Milano Nosedo e Milano San Rocco". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ Macchione 1998, p. 17.
- ^ Macchione 1998, p. 11 e 18.
- ^ Boscolo 2012, p. 79.
- ^ "Consorzio villoresi - Canali di competenza del consorzio" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ "Contratti di fiume - Ricostruzione dei corsi d'acqua dell'ambito vallivo di Olona, Bozzente, Lura: riconnessione con l'Olona inferiore fino al Po" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.