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Rhine

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: European Geography

                               Rhine River
   The Rhine is one of the most important rivers in Europe

           The Rhine is one of the most important rivers in Europe

   Origin           Grisons, Switzerland
   Mouth            North Sea, Hoek van Holland, the Netherlands
   Basin countries  Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany,
                    France, Luxembourg, Netherlands
   Length           1,320 km (820 mi)
   Source elevation Vorderrhein: approx. 2,600 m (8,500 ft)
                    Hinterrhein: approx. 2,500 m (8,200 ft)
   Avg. discharge   Basel: 1,060 m³/s (37,440 ft³/s)
                    Strasbourg: 1,080 m³/s (38,150 ft³/s)
                    Cologne: 2,090 m³/s (73,820 ft³/s)
                    Dutch border: 2,260 m³/s (79,823 ft³/s)
   Basin area       185,000 km² (71,430 mi²)
   Loreley
   Enlarge
   Loreley

   The River Rhine (Dutch Rijn, French Rhin, German Rhein, Italian: Reno,
   Romansch: Rein, ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in
   Europe at 1,320 kilometres (820 miles), with an average discharge of
   more than 2,000 cubic meters per second. The name of the Rhine comes
   from the Celtic Renos, literally "that which flows", from the
   Proto-Indo-European root *rei- ("to flow, run"), which is also the
   origin of the English verb "to run" and the Greek adage Πάντα ῥεῖ καὶ
   οὐδὲν μένει, (everything flows, nothing stands still).

   The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the northern frontier of the
   Roman Empire, and since those days the Rhine has been a vital navigable
   waterway, carrying trade and goods deep inland. It has also served as a
   defensive feature, and been the basis for regional and international
   borders. The many castles and prehistoric fortifications along the
   Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway - river traffic could be
   stopped at these locations, usually for the purpose of collecting
   tolls, by the state controlling that portion of the river.

Geography

   The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland
   Enlarge
   The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland
   The Rhine just downstream from Lake Constance
   Enlarge
   The Rhine just downstream from Lake Constance
   The Marksburg near Koblenz was built in 1231
   Enlarge
   The Marksburg near Koblenz was built in 1231
   Rhine with chemical industry at Wesseling near Cologne
   Enlarge
   Rhine with chemical industry at Wesseling near Cologne

Switzerland

   The Rhine's origins are in the Swiss Alps in the canton of Graubünden,
   where its two main initial tributaries are called Vorderrhein and
   Hinterrhein. The Vorderrhein (anterior Rhine) springs from Lake Tuma
   near the Oberalp Pass and passes the impressive Ruinaulta (the Swiss
   Grand Canyon). The Hinterrhein (posterior Rhine) starts from the
   Paradies glacier near the Rheinquellhorn at the southern border of
   Switzerland. One of the latter tributaries originates in Val di Lei in
   Italy. Both tributaries meet near Reichenau, still in Graubünden. From
   Reichenau, the Rhine flows north as the Alpenrhein passing Chur and
   forming the frontier with Liechtenstein and then Austria, and then
   emptying into Lake Constance. Emerging from Lake Constance, flowing
   west as the Hochrhein it passes the Rhine Falls and is joined by the
   Aare river which more than doubles its water discharge to an average of
   nearly 1,000 cubic meters per second. It forms the boundary with
   Germany until it turns north at the so-called Rhine knee at Basel.

Germany and France

   Past Basel, as the Upper Rhine, it forms the southern part of the
   border between Germany and France in a wide valley, before entering
   Germany exclusively at Rheinstetten, near Karlsruhe.

   At over 1000 kilometres in length, the Rhine is the longest river
   primarily within Germany. It is here that the Rhine encounters some of
   its main tributaries, such as the Neckar, the Main and later the
   Moselle, which contributes an average discharge of over 300 cubic
   meters per second.

   Between Bingen and Bonn, the Middle Rhine flows through the Rhine
   Gorge, a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same
   rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its
   original level, and the surrounding lands raised. This gorge is quite
   deep, and is the stretch of the river known for its many castles and
   vineyards. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2002) and known as "the
   romantic Rhine" with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the
   Middle Ages (see links) and many lovely wine villages.

   Though many industries can be found along the Rhine up into
   Switzerland, it is along the Lower Rhine in the Ruhr area that the bulk
   of them are concentrated, as the river passes the major cities of
   Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Duisburg. The Ruhr, which joins the Rhine at
   Duisburg, is surprisingly clean, given the amount of industry on its
   banks, and is used for drinking water. It adds another 70 cubic meters
   per second to the Rhine. However, other rivers from the Ruhr area,
   above all the Emscher, still bring a considerable degree of pollution.
   Approaching the Dutch border, the Rhine now has an average discharge of
   2,290 cubic metres per second and an average width of more than 300 m.

The Netherlands

   The Rhine then turns west and enters the Netherlands, where together
   with the rivers Meuse and Scheldt it forms an extensive delta. Crossing
   the border into the Netherlands at Spijk, close to Nijmegen and Arnhem
   the Rhine is at its widest, but the river then splits into three main
   distributaries: the Waal, Nederrijn ("Lower Rhine") and IJssel
   branches.

   From here the situation becomes more complicated, as the name "Rhine"
   no longer coincides with the main flow of water. Most of the Rhine
   water (two thirds) flows farther west through the Waal and then via the
   Merwede and Nieuwe Merwede and, merging with the Meuse, through the
   Hollands Diep and Haringvliet estuaries into the North Sea. The Beneden
   Merwede branches off near Hardinxveld-Giessendam and continues as the
   Noord, to join the Lek near the village of Kinderdijk to form the
   Nieuwe Maas, then flows past Rotterdam and continues via Het Scheur and
   the Nieuwe Waterweg to the North Sea. The Oude Maas branches off near
   Dordrecht, farther down rejoining the Nieuwe Maas to form Het Scheur.

   The other third portion of the water flows through the Pannerdens
   Kanaal and redistributes in the IJssel and Nederrijn. The IJssel branch
   carries one ninth of the water volume north into the IJsselmeer (a
   former bay), while the Nederrijn flows west parallel to the Waal and
   carries approximately two ninths of the flow. However, at Wijk bij
   Duurstede the Nederrijn changes its name and becomes the Lek. It flows
   farther west to rejoin the Noord into the Nieuwe Maas and to the North
   Sea.

   The name "Rhine" from here on is used only for smaller streams farther
   to the north which together once formed the main river Rhine in Roman
   times. Though they retained the name, these streams do not carry water
   from the Rhine anymore, but are used for draining the surrounding land
   and polders. From Wijk bij Duurstede, the old north branch of the Rhine
   is called Kromme Rijn ("Crooked Rhine") and past Utrecht, first Leidse
   Rijn ("Rhine of Leiden") and then Oude Rijn ("Old Rhine"). The latter
   flows west into a sluice at Katwijk, where its waters can be discharged
   into the North Sea. This branch once formed the line along which the
   Upper Germanic limes were built.

Large cities

   Basel, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Wiesbaden, Mainz,
   Koblenz, Bonn, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Neuss, Krefeld, Duisburg, Arnhem
   (Nederrijn), Nijmegen (Waal), Utrecht (Kromme Rijn), Rotterdam (Nieuwe
   Maas).

Smaller cities

   Konstanz, Schaffhausen, ..., Speyer, Worms, Bingen, Rüdesheim, Neuwied,
   Andernach, Bad Honnef, Königswinter, Niederkassel, Wesseling, Dormagen,
   Zons, Monheim, Wesel, Xanten, Emmerich, Zutphen (IJssel), Deventer
   (IJssel), Zwolle (IJssel), Kampen (IJssel).

Railway bridges

   Railway bridges (with nearest train station on the left and right
   bank):
     * Switzerland
          + Tens of bridges in Graubünden, too numerous to list

     * Liechtenstein and Switzerland
          + between Schaan and Buchs SG

     * Austria and Switzerland
          + between Lustenau and St. Margerethen

     * Switzerland
          + between Feuerthalen and Neuhausen am Rheinfall
          + between Dachsen and Neuhausen am Rheinfall
          + between Eglisau and Hüntwangen-Will

     * Switzerland and Germany
          + between Koblenz and Waldshut
          + between Basel SBB and Basel Badischer Bahnhof

     * France — Germany
          + Strasbourg — Kehl
          + Roeschwoog — Rastatt-Wintersdorf (used as street bridge since
            1949, line closed 1960, rails were preserved for strategic
            purpose until 1999)
     * Germany
       Bridge at Karlsruhe
       Enlarge
       Bridge at Karlsruhe
          + Karlsruhe-Maxau — Wörth am Rhein-Maximiliansau
          + Germersheim — Philippsburg
          + Ludwigshafen — Mannheim
          + Worms
          + Mainz
          + Koblenz
          + 2 bridges between Köln Hbf and Köln Deutz/Messe (
            Hohenzollernbrücke)
          + Düsseldorf
          + Duisburg

     * Netherlands (in the delta the river splits and its name changes
       often)
          + between Nijmegen and Elst across Waal (Rhine delta main
            branch)
          + between Zaltbommel and Geldermalsen across Waal, made famous
            in a poem by Martinus Nijhoff
          + in Rotterdam across Nieuwe Maas (joint Rhine- Meuse river
            mouth), former bridge 'De Hef' - now replaced by a tunnel.
            Farther to the south, main bridge is at Moerdijk.
          + between Elst and Arnhem across Nederrijn (Rhine delta
            second-largest branch)
          + between Culemborg and Houten across Lek (Rhine delta
            second-largest branch farther downstream)
          + at Zutphen across IJssel (Rhine third-largest branch)
          + at Deventer across IJssel
          + at Zwolle across IJssel
          + near Alblas across Noord (a branch near Rotterdam), now being
            replaced by a tunnel.
          + between Utrecht and Zeist across Kromme Rijn (near Bunnik
            station)
          + At Utrecht central station across Vaartsche Rijn (canal)
          + At Utrecht central station across Oude Rijn (canalised into
            Leidschse Rijn).
          + between Utrecht and Vleuten, Woerden across Amsterdam
            Rijn-Canal
          + between Utrecht and Breukelen,Amsterdam across Amsterdam
            Rijn-Canal

Tributaries

   Vorderrhein
   Enlarge
   Vorderrhein

   Tributaries from source to mouth:
     * Left
          + Thur
          + Töss
          + Aare (Aar)
          + Birs
          + Birsig
          + Ill (France)
          + Moder
          + Lauter
          + Nahe
          + Moselle (Mosel)
          + Nette
          + Ahr
          + Erft
          + Meuse (Maas) (joins part of the Rhine in the shared delta)

     * Right
          + Hinterrhein
          + Ill (Austria)
          + Schussen
          + Wutach
          + Alb
          + Wiese
          + Elz
          + Kinzig
          + Rench
          + Acher
          + Murg
          + Alb
          + Pfinz
          + Neckar
          + Main
          + Lahn
          + Wied
          + Sieg
          + Wupper
          + Düssel
          + Ruhr
          + Emscher
          + Lippe
          + Oude IJssel (Issel)
          + Berkel

Distributaries

     * IJssel
     * Waal
     * Lek

Canals include

     * Amsterdam-Rhine Canal
     * Rhine-Main-Danube Canal
     * Scheldt-Rhine Canal
     * Rhein-Herne Kanal which is the connection to the Mittellandkanal.

Geologic History

Alpine Orogeny

   Since the Rhine flows from the Alps, a precondition of its existence is
   the uplifting of the Alps, which began in the Alpine Orogeny. The stage
   was set in the Triassic Period of the Mesozoic Era, with the opening of
   the Tethys Sea between the Eurasian and African plates, between about
   240 MBP and 220 MBP. The Mediterranean descends from this somewhat
   larger Tethys sea.

   At about 180 MBP, in the Jurassic Period, the two plates reversed
   direction and began to compress the Tethys floor, causing it to be
   subducted under Eurasia and pushing up the edge of the latter plate in
   the Alpine Orogeny of the Oligocene and Miocene Periods. Several
   microplates were caught in the squeeze and rotated or were pushed
   laterally, generating the individual features of Mediterranean
   geography: Iberia pushed up the Pyrenees; Italy the Alps, and Anatolia,
   moving west, the mountains of Greece and the islands. The compression
   and orogeny continue today, as shown by the ongoing raising of the
   mountains a small amount each year and the active volcanoes.

   Just to the north of the Alpine Orogeny were highlands resulting from
   an earlier orogeny ( Variscan) along similar lines. These highlands
   helped to divert the Rhine to the west; however, the Rhine's course is
   set by the Rhine graben, a rift that opened in the Eocene and Oligocene
   periods between the western Alps and the central Alps, caused by their
   moving in slightly different directions. The rift does not seem to be
   active now.

Stream Capture

   The watershed of the Rhine reaches into the Alps today, but it did not
   start out that way (Berendsen & Stouthamer, 2001; Fig. 2.2 ). In the
   Miocene period, the watershed of the Rhine reached south only to the
   Eifel and Westerwald hills, about 450 km north of the Alps. The Rhine
   then had the Sieg as a tributary, but not yet the Mosel. The northern
   Alps were drained by the Danube then.

   Through stream capture, the Rhine extended its watershed southward. By
   the Pliocene period, the Rhine had captured streams down to the Vosges
   mountains, including the Mosel, the Main, and the Neckar. The northern
   Alps were drained by the Rhône then.

   By the early Pleistocene period, the Rhine had captured most of its
   current Alpine watershed from the Rhône, including the Aare. Since that
   time, the Rhine has added the watershed above Lake Constance (
   Vorderrhein, Hinterrhein, Alpenrhein; captured from the Rhône), the
   upper reaches of the Main (beyond Schweinfurt), and the Vosges
   mountains (captured from the Meuse) to its watershed.

Ice Age

   The Pleistocene (~2.5 million years ago - 10,000 years ago) was the
   geological period of the Ice Ages. Since approximately 600,000 years
   ago six major Ice Ages have occurred, in which sea level dropped 120 m,
   and much of the continental margins became exposed. In the Early
   Pleistocene, the Rhine followed a course to the northwest, through the
   present North Sea. During the so-called Elsterien glaciation (~420,000
   yr BP, marine oxygen isotope stage 12) the northern part of the present
   North Sea was blocked by the ice, and a large lake developed that
   overflowed through the English Channel. This caused the Rhine's course
   to be diverted through the English Channel. Since then, during glacial
   times, the river mouth was located near Brest (France), and rivers like
   the Thames, and Seine became tributaries to the Rhine. During
   interglacials, when sea level rose to approximately the present level,
   the Rhine built a delta in what is now called The Netherlands.

   During the last Ice Age (~70,000-10,000 yr BP= Before Present), at the
   end of the Pleistocene, the lower Rhine flowed roughly west through the
   Netherlands and then to the southwest, through the English Channel, and
   finally to the Atlantic Ocean. The English and Irish Channels, the
   Baltic Sea and the North Sea were still dry land, mainly because sea
   level was approximately 120 m lower than today. At about 5000 BC,
   flooding and erosion began to open the English Channel. Most of the
   Rhine's current course was not under the ice during the last Ice Age,
   although its source must then have been a glacier. A tundra with Ice
   Age flora and fauna stretched across middle Europe from Asia to the
   Atlantic Ocean. Such was the case during the Last Glacial Maximum, ca.
   22,000-14,000 yr BP, when ice covered Scandinavia and the Baltic,
   Britain and the Alps, but left the space between as open tundra. The
   loess, or wind-blown dust over that tundra settled in and around the
   Rhine Valley, contributing to its current agricultural usefulness.

   These events were well within the residence of man. Meltwater adding to
   the ocean and land subsidence drowned the former coasts of Europe. The
   water is still rising, at the rate of about 1-3 mm per year. Further
   drowning is to come.

   Rapid warming and change of vegetation to open forest began about
   13,000 BP. By 9000 BP, Europe was fully forested. About 7000-5000 BP a
   general warming encouraged migration up the Danube and down the Rhine
   by peoples to the east, who may also have been encouraged by the sudden
   massive expansion of the Black Sea as the Mediterranean burst into it
   through the Bosphorus about 7500 BP. At least one unsuccessful search
   for remains of villages on the floor of the Black Sea has been
   conducted.

Prehistory

Palaeolithic

   During the Middle Palaeolithic, ca 100,000-30,000 BP (the dates vary a
   geat deal) western Europe, including the Rhine and Danube Valleys, was
   occupied by Neanderthal Man, to which belonged the Mousterian culture
   of stone tools. Mousterian sites are not considered intrusive. It is
   believed that the Neanderthals may have evolved from the preceding Homo
   erectus in the vicinity of the glaciers, but the question has by no
   means been settled definitively.

   Neanderthal sites are denser to the south, where open forest prevailed
   and the limestone terrain offered more caves as dwelling. The Rhine ran
   through an open tundra, where Neanderthals hunted big game, such as the
   woolly rhinoceros and the mammoth. Accordingly, open air Mousterian
   sites have been discovered in and around the Rhine valley.

Mesolithic

   Before about 5600 BC, the Rhine Valley, along with most of Europe, was
   occupied by Cro-magnon man in the Mesolithic stage of cultural
   development; that is, they hunted and gathered, but owned a larger and
   more specialized tool kit than the Palaeolithic people, knew more about
   the plants and animals, and even may have kept a few animals.

Iron Age

   During the early Iron Age, both banks of the Rhine were inhabited by
   Celtic tribes. However, in the beginning of the Pre-Roman Iron Age, ca
   600 BC, the Proto-Germanic tribes crossed the Weser River and the Aller
   River, and expanded the whole distance to the banks of the Rhine. This
   expansion is shown archaeologically in the form of the Jastorf culture.
   From ca 500 BC and onwards, the lower Rhine and not the Weser and the
   Aller would increasingly mark the border between the Celtic tribes and
   the Germanic tribes.

Historic and Military Relevance

   The human history of the Rhine begins with the writers of the late
   Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. Nearly all the classical sources
   mention the Rhine, and the name is always the same: Rhenus in Latin,
   Greek Rhenos. The Romans viewed the Rhine as the outermost border of
   civilization and reason, beyond which were mythical creatures and the
   wild Germans, not far themselves from being beasts of the wilderness
   they inhabited. As it was a wilderness, the Romans were eager to
   explore it. This view is typified by Res Gestae Divi Augusti, a long
   public inscription of Augustus in which he (or his ghost writer) boasts
   of his exploits, including sending an expeditionary fleet north of the
   Rhinemouth to Jutland, which no Roman had ever done (he says).

   Throughout the long history of Rome, the Rhine was considered the
   border between Gaul or the Celts and the Germans, even though the
   border often was violated, as when the Germanics crossed it and joined
   with the Celts to form the Belgae (descending to Belgium). Typical of
   this point of view is a quote from Maurus Servius Honoratus, Commentary
   on the Aeneid of Vergil (On Book 8 Line 727):

          "(Rhenus) fluvius Galliae, qui Germanos a Gallia dividit"
          "(The Rhine is a) river of Gaul, which divides the Germanic
          people from Gaul."

   The Rhine in the earlier sources was always a Gallic river.

   As the conflict between Rome and the Germanics grew, the Romans found
   it necessary to station troops along the Rhine. They kept two army
   groups there (exercitus), the inferior, or "lower", and the superior,
   or "upper", which is the first distinction between upper Germania and
   lower Germania. It originally probably only meant upstream and
   downstream, the Niederrhein and Oberrhein regions of the map included
   with this article.

   The Romans kept eight legions in five bases along the Rhine. The actual
   number of legions present at any base or in all depended on whether a
   state or threat of war existed. Between about 14 AD and 180 AD the
   assignment of legions was as follows.

   For the army of Germania Inferior, two legions at Vetera ( Xanten): I
   Germanica and XX Valeria ( Pannonian troops); two legions at oppidum
   Ubiorum ("town of the Ubii"), which was renamed to Colonia Agrippina,
   descending to Cologne. The legions were V Alaudae, a Celtic legion
   recruited from Gallia Transalpina, and XXI, possibly a Galatian legion
   from the other side of the empire.

   For the army of Germania superior, one legion, II Augusta, at
   Argentoratum ( Strasbourg), and one, XIII Gemina, at Vindonissa (
   Windisch). Vespasian had commanded II Augusta before his promotion to
   imperator. In addition were a double legion, XIV and XVI, at
   Moguntiacum ( Mainz).

   The two originally military districts of Germania Inferior and Germania
   Superior came to influence the surrounding tribes, who later respected
   the distinction in their alliances and confederations. For example, the
   upper Germans combined into the Alemanni. For a time the Rhine ceased
   to be a border when a union of all the west Germanics, the Franks,
   crossed the river and occupied Roman-dominated Celtic Gaul as far as
   Paris.

   Subsequently language changes began to play a major political role.
   West Germanic dissimilated into Low Saxon-Low Franconian languages and
   High German languages roughly along the old lines. Perhaps it had been
   doing so all along. Charlemagne united all the Franks in the Holy Roman
   Empire, but he did not rule over a people of uniform language. After
   his death the empire split more or less along language lines, with the
   Low Franconian being spoken in the Netherlands and the Low Saxon and
   High German in what became Germany. The Romanized Franks became the
   French. The Rhine once again became a political border.

   The Rhine as border has been and is a mystical and political symbol.
   German authors and composers have written reams about it. During World
   War II, it was still considered the sacred border of Germany, and was
   still a defensive barrier. The Germans fought especially hard to defend
   it. The Rhine is closely linked to many important historical events —
   particularly military ones — in the adjacent states. For example:
     * The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest which finally established the
       Rhine as the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.

     * It was a historic object of frontier trouble between France and
       Germany. Establishing France's " natural borders" on the Rhine was
       a long term goal of French foreign policy since the Middle Ages.
       French leaders such as Louis XIV and Napoleon Bonaparte tried with
       varying degrees of success to annex lands west of the Rhine. In
       1840 the Rhine crisis evolved, because the French prime minister
       Adolphe Thiers started to talk about the Rhine border. In response,
       the nationalistic song The Watch on the Rhine (Die Wacht am Rhein)
       was composed at that time and during the Franco-Prussian War it
       rose to the status of a national anthem in Germany. The song calls
       for defending the Rhine against France. The song remained popular
       in World War I.

     * At the end of World War I the Rhineland was subject to the Treaty
       of Versailles. This decreed that it would be occupied by the allies
       until 1935, and after that it would be a demilitarised zone, with
       the German army forbidden to enter. The Treaty of Versailles in
       general, and this particular provision, caused much resentment in
       Germany and are often cited as helping Adolf Hitler's rise to
       power. The allies left the Rhineland in 1930, and the German army
       re-occupied it in 1936, which was enormously popular in Germany.
       Although the allies could probably have prevented the
       re-occupation, Britain and France were not inclined to do so, a
       feature of their policy of appeasement of Hitler.

     * In World War II it was recognised that the Rhine would present a
       formidable natural obstacle to the invasion of Germany by the
       western allies. The Rhine bridge at Arnhem, immortalized in the
       book and film "A Bridge Too Far", was a central focus of the battle
       for Arnhem during the failed Operation Market Garden of September
       1944. The bridges at Nijmegen over the Waal distributary of the
       Rhine were also an objective of Market Garden. In a separate
       operation, the Rhine bridge at Remagen became famous when US forces
       were able to capture it intact - much to their own surprise - after
       the Germans failed to demolish it. This also became the subject of
       a film, The Bridge at Remagen.

     * Mainz Cathedral - this more than 1,000-year-old cathedral is seat
       to the Bishop of Mainz. It holds significant historic value as the
       seat of the once politically powerful secular prince-archbishop
       within the Holy Roman Empire. It houses historical funerary
       monuments and religious artifacts.

     * Das Rheingold - The Rhine is one of the settings for the first
       opera of Richard Wagner's Ring cycle. The action of the epic opens
       and ends underneath the Rhine, where three Rhinemaidens swim and
       protect a hoard of gold.

     * Nibelung - Siegfried/ Sigurd, hero of the Nibelungenlied killed his
       dragon on the Drachenfels (Siebengebirge) "dragons rock" near Bonn

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