Eridanos (river of Hades)

The river Eridanos is mentioned in ancient Greek writings as a river in northern Europe rich of Amber.

The name was given by geologists to a river which flowed where today can be found the Baltic Sea. The geological Eridanos was most important about one million years ago, when it had a length of about 2,700 kilometres. It began in Lapponia, and then flowed through the area of the modern-day Gulf of Bothnia to western Europe, where it had an immense delta which spanned almost the entire current North Sea. It was comparable in size to the current-day Amazon River.

The Eridanos began about 40 million years ago. About 12 million years ago the river reached the North Sea area, where it began to build an immense delta with its sediments. The Eridanos disappeared during the Ice age of 1,700 years ago, which completely covered the riverbed. By the time the ice caps retreated the ancient riverbed had been widened into the current-day Baltic Sea.

Remnants of the Eridanos are found all through northern Europe, from the Netherlands at its western end to sediments in northern Lapponia.