Otterbach (Michelsbach)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Otterbach
Course of the Otterbach (below)

Course of the Otterbach (below)

Data
Water code DE : 237522
location Germany
Rhineland-Palatinate
Southern Palatinate
River system Rhine
Drain over Michelsbach  → Rhine  → North Sea
source northeast of Guttenberg Castle
49 ° 4 ′ 53 ″  N , 7 ° 55 ′ 52 ″  E
Source height 283  m above sea level NHN
muzzle in Leimersheim in Fischmal Coordinates: 49 ° 7 '25 "  N , 8 ° 21' 6"  E 49 ° 7 '25 "  N , 8 ° 21' 6"  E
Mouth height 97  m above sea level NHN
Height difference 186 m
Bottom slope 4.4 ‰
length 42.2 km
Catchment area 119.158 km²
Left tributaries s. Section tributaries
Right tributaries s. Section tributaries
Small towns Kandel , Wörth am Rhein
Communities Oberotterbach , Niederotterbach , Vollmersweiler , Freckenfeld , Minfeld , Jockgrim , Neupotz , Leimersheim
Residents in the catchment area 120,000
Otterbach near Neupotz, from the left the Wattbach

Otterbach near Neupotz, from the left the Wattbach

The Otterbach is a 42 km long stream and the right source river of the Michelsbach in Rhineland-Palatinate . It flows along its entire length through the southern Palatinate .

Surname

The brook name is derived - like numerous corresponding compositions in German-speaking countries - from the marten species otter , which is still sometimes found in Central Europe today.

geography

course

The Otterbach rises in the Upper Mundat Forest , which is located in the southeast of the Wasgau in southern Palatinate , the southern part of the Palatinate Forest . The source is the Rothenbrunnen at 283  m above sea level. NHN in a notched valley northeast of the Schloßberg ( 503.1  m ) and southwest of the Farrenberg ( 489.3  m ).

Between the eastern rivers of Hohenberg ( 420  m ) in the north and Steinbühl ( 402  m ) in the south, the Otterbach breaks through the eastern edge of the low mountain range and enters the Rhine plain . It flows through the two municipalities named after him, Oberotterbach - there it crosses under the German Wine Route - and Niederotterbach , then Vollmersweiler and Freckenfeld , where it passes the Bienwald on its northern edge. In Minfeld it takes up the Dierbach from the left , then it forms the border between the districts of Kandel and Wörth . The Bruchbach flows into Kandel from the right . The Otterbach meanders heavily as it runs through Jockgrim . It then flows through Neupotz and the Fischmal , located southeast of Leimersheim , an oxbow lake from the Rhine that was already there in 1595. The still water is 1.5 km long and a maximum of 100 m wide and represents a biotope for numerous water birds and plants.

While a pumping station on the Rhine dam leads part of the Otterbach water from the Fischmal ( ⊙ ) to the right (northeast) into the Leimersheimer Altrhein and thus directly to the Rhine , the left drain runs as Michelsbach to the northwest through the local area of ​​Leimersheim and picks up there 97  m up the Erlenbach coming from the left . The Michelsbach is a former loop of the river Rhine and flows into the main stream after a good 12 km at a height of 96  m from the left.

In contrast to the described estuary, the Rhineland-Palatinate Water Management Authority classifies the Otterbach as a tributary of the Leimersheimer Altrhein flowing to the northeast, which is also evident from the river code numbers (Michelsbach 2375 4 , Otterbach 2375 22 ). For this purpose, the Otterbach estuary ( ⊙ ) will be relocated 200 m in front of the Fischmal and this reservoir will be added to the Leimersheimer Altrhein.

Tributaries and branches

Tributaries and branches downstream with orographic side, length and catchment area:

  • Graben am Heidenbrunnenhof ( left ), 1.0 km, 0.452 km²
  • Schulzenteichgraben ( left ), 0.9 km, 0.753 km²
  • Salzgraben ( right ), 2.4 km, 2.875 km²
  • Müllergraben ( left ), 0.1 km, 0.016 km²
  • Bruchteichgraben ( left ), 1.2 km, 1.496 km²
  • Sandwiesengraben ( left ), 0.4 km, 0.098 km²
  • Ditch from the railway ( left ), 0.3 km, 0.241 km²
  • Dorfbach ( left ), 2.1 km, 0.497 km²
  • Immensackgraben ( right ), 0.5 km, 0.128 km²
  • Vorderbach ( right ), 3.1 km, 1.583 km²
  • Mittelbach ( right ), 1.5 km, 0.252 km²
  • Bruchbach ( right ), 11.1 km, 13,945 km²
  • Lower Dorfwiesengraben ( left )
  • Dierbach ( left ), 18.5 km, 24,686 km²
  • Mühlbach ( left )
  • Oberbuschgraben ( left )
  • Neugraben ( right ), 11.2 km, 8.883 km²
  • Rift ditch ( right )
  • Kleiner Dörninggraben ( left )
  • Dörninggraben ( left ), 10.0 km, 11,194 km²
  • Wattbach ( left ), 1.0 km
  • Wanzenheimer Wiesengraben ( left )
  • Rheingraben ( right )
  • Kapplachgraben ( left )

nature and environment

Otterbach in the area of ​​the Bruchbach-Otterbachniederung nature reserve near Kandel

In the Rhine Plain , the nature reserve No. 7334-103 Bruchbach-Otterbachniederung (1543.2 ha) extends south of the middle Otterbach towards the Bienwald . It is criss-crossed by numerous old irrigation ditches and is therefore a valuable wetland biotope .

Mills

A number of mills used to be operated with the water from the Otterbach . Brendelsmühle , Heldenmühle , Höllenmühle and Schaidter Mühle , for example , have been preserved as residential names to this day.

Web links

Commons : Otterbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Germersheim. (PDF; 2.2 MB) NSG album “Bruchbach-Otterbachniederung I; Habitat flowing water ”. State Office for the Environment, Water Management and Trade Inspection Rhineland-Palatinate, March 2012.;
  • Germersheim. (PDF; 2.6 MB) NSG album “Bruchbach-Otterbachniederung II; Grassland Habitat ”. State Office for the Environment, Water Management and Trade Inspection Rhineland-Palatinate, March 2012.;
  • Germersheim. (PDF; 1.9 MB) NSG album “Bruchbach-Otterbachniederung III; Still waters habitat ”. State Office for the Environment, Water Management and Trade Inspection Rhineland-Palatinate, March 2012.;

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Map service of the landscape information system of the Rhineland-Palatinate Nature Conservation Administration (LANIS map) ( notes )
  2. ↑ a b c d GeoExplorer of the Rhineland-Palatinate Water Management Authority ( information )
  3. ↑ Heinz Musall: The development of the cultural landscape of the Rhine valley between Karlsruhe and Speyer from the late 16th to the late 19th century. (= Heidelberg geographical works , booklet 22) Geographical Institute of the University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg 1969, p. 53.
  4. ↑ a b junction
  5. ↑ Bruchbach-Otterbach lowlands. Südpfalz-Tourismus Landkreis Germersheim, accessed on March 29, 2015 .