European main watershed
The European main watershed , also known as the Great European Watershed or European Continental Watershed , separates the tributaries to the open Atlantic , the North and Baltic Seas from those to the Mediterranean and Black Seas between Gibraltar and Moscow . Other main watersheds in Europe separate these two large hydrographic regions from the catchment areas of the Caspian Sea and the Polar Sea .
Sections
Mediterranean - Atlantic watershed
The Great European Watershed runs from Gibraltar or Punta de Tarifa through southeast Spain in an easterly direction over the Sierra de Grazalema and the other mountains of the Betic Cordillera , the highest of which is the Sierra Nevada , to the eastern border of Andalusia with the Sierra de María , then to the north over the Sierra de la Sagra , the Sierra de Segura and the Sierra de Alcaraz . From the La Mancha plain , where it runs between the Záncara and Júcar rivers , the Guadalquivir no longer drains to the Atlantic, but the Guadiana . Further north, the watershed between the Embalse de Buendía and the Embalse de Alarcón is overcome by the Tajo-Segura Canal . East of Cuenca it runs over the plateau of the same name, where the Guadiana catchment area is replaced by the Tajo . It continues over the Montes Universales and the Sierra de Albarracín , where the Tagus rises and the catchment area of the Ebro to the Mediterranean Sea begins. To the northwest it then runs over the Sierra Ministra between Sigüenza and Medinaceli , from there it divides the catchment areas of Duero (Atlantic) and Ebro. From the Sierra del Moncayo at the easternmost point of Castilla y León , it then runs northwest over the Old Castilian chain of the Iberian Rim Mountains to the Sierra de la Demanda and north of Burgos to the Pico Tres Mares in the Sierra Híjar , which belongs to the Cantabrian Mountains . It follows this near the Biscay to the east until it merges into the main ridge of the Pyrenees in the Basque Country and borders the catchment area of the Ebro as far as Andorra . The north side drains to the Adour up to the Cirque de Gavarnie , then to the Garonne .
From there it runs in France , the Garonne (to the Biscay) in the west, to the apex of the Canal du Midi near Carcassonne and continues through the Cevennes . It limits the catchment area of the Rhone (to the Golfe du Lion , western Mediterranean, in the east) from the Cevennes, runs between the sources of Allier (Loire) and Ardèche (Rhône), in the Monts du Vivarais , the Monts du Lyonnais and the Monts du Charolais between Loire (to the Atlantic) and Rhône to the north. In the Côte d'Or between Autun and Dijon , the Atlantic - English Channel watershed branches off ( 47 ° 12 ′ 11.9 ″ N , 4 ° 32 ′ 53.9 ″ E ), in the Langres plateau between Marne (across the Seine to the channel ), Meuse (Maas) and the sources of the Saône (to the Rhône) form the divide between the Channel and the North Sea ( 47 ° 56 ′ 29 ″ N , 5 ° 30 ′ 20 ″ E ). The Canal de Bourgogne and the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne (both with tunnels) cross in this area . In the further course it leads over the Alsatian Belchen in the southernmost part of the Vosges , turns south through the Burgundian Gate into the Jura of Switzerland and then runs south of Lake Neuchâtel ( Canal d'Entreroches ) to the northern bank of Lake Geneva , which it almost touches.
The main watershed reaches the Alps on Mont Pèlerin above Vevey and leads over the ridges of the Bernese Alps to the Furka Pass , where about 10 km southeast of the Witenwasserenstock ( 46 ° 31 ′ 39.4 ″ N , 8 ° 28 ′ 41.3 ″ E ) with the Rhone / Po watershed the watershed Adriatic-Western Mediterranean (in the further course the border between Italy and Switzerland and France, then the main Italian watershed ). It continues over the Gotthard Pass into the Graubünden Alps , where west of Maloja at the Lunghin Pass ( 46 ° 24 ′ 48.7 ″ N , 9 ° 39 ′ 49.9 ″ E ) the Mediterranean-Black Sea watershed with the catchment area of the Danube splits off (which leads over the Dinaric Mountains to the Bosporus ); The Lunghin Pass is thus the most important watershed point in the Alpine region.
- see also: Main Alpine Ridge
Atlantic - Black Sea watershed
The Atlantic - Black Sea watershed runs from the Lunghin Pass ( 46 ° 24 ′ 48.7 ″ N , 9 ° 39 ′ 49.9 ″ E ) west of Maloja to the Julier Pass , between Davos and Zernez via Piz Buin to Austria and the Arlberg , in the western Allgäu Alps to Germany , and changes in the Adelegg near Kempten (Allgäu) in the Alpine foothills .
Outside the Alps, it runs in Germany first north of Lake Constance northeast to the source of the Schussen , then southwest and west into the Black Forest , around the sources of Brigach and Breg , over the Swabian Alb , the Virngrund , the Frankenhöhe , through the summit of the Main-Danube Canal over the Franconian Alb and the Fichtel Mountains into the Bohemian Forest , now on the border of the Danube and Elbe .
In addition to the Mühlviertel it runs in Austria by the forest district , and in the Czech Republic on the Moravian Bohemia-height into Snieznik mountains ( 50 ° 9 '8.5 " N , 16 ° 47' 1.5" O , where the Śnieżnik the North Sea / Baltic Sea divide splits off) to the border with Poland . Then it continues over the Sudetes ( Jeseníky ), in the north Oder and Vistula ( Wisła ) to the Baltic Sea, through the valley watershed Moravian Gate into the Beskids ( Carpathians ) in the triangle with Ukraine .
South of Lviv , it runs around the Dniester (to the Black Sea) into the headwaters of the Bug and includes the catchment area of the Prypiat (via the Dnieper to the Black Sea), where it is cut by the Dnepr-Bug Canal . Then it follows the Belarusian ridge by Belarus and Russia , where they Memel ( Nemunas ) and Dvina ( Daugava ), (both to the Baltic Sea) and Dnepr separates (the Black Sea), then km in the Smolensk height 200 west of Moscow to end .
Irregularities
However, there are also irregularities: For example, due to the sinking of the Danube , part of the Danube water at Immendingen flows underground to the Aachtopf and from there into the Rhine and thus crosses under the European watershed in a river tap . In addition, man has created large canals Rhône-Rhine , Main-Danube and Dnepr-Bug , but also a number of hydropower plants and the Danube-Main crossing that tap water areas through the main watershed.
- See also: Watersheds in the Alps - for a detailed course in the Alps
- See also: Watersheds in Germany - for a more precise route between Lake Constance and the Bohemian Forest
The main European watershed points
Baltic Sea - Black Sea - Caspian Sea
The catchment areas meet at the first major watershed point ( 55 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ N , 33 ° 29 ′ 24 ″ E ) in the Smolensk Heights west of Moscow, between the sources of the Dnepr , the upper Volga and the upper reaches of the Daugava ( Dvina ) from the Baltic Sea (Atlantic), Black Sea and Caspian Sea . The latter belongs to the large endorheic area of Inner Asia , which extends from here to Mongolia, and which does not drain into an ocean. The point is located in the village of Botscharowo ( Бочарово ) in the Belyer Heights ( Бельская возвышенность ), near Bely , only a few kilometers from the Dnepr spring, which is a protected area. From here Obscha drain to the north via Mescha - Düna, and tributaries of the Wasusa to the Volga to the southeast.
One of the main watersheds (Black Sea and Caspian Sea) runs from here to the south over the Central Russian Plate to the south of Oryol ( Orel ), encompasses the Don and then follows the Volga sill , via the Volga-Don Canal - the most important penetration through this sheath - in the Jergeni hills , crosses the Manytsch lowlands and leaves - depending on the convention of the borders of Europe - Europe there, or over the main ridge of the Caucasus on the Elbrus , which is then considered the highest mountain in Europe.
Baltic Sea - Caspian Sea - Polar Sea
The main Atlantic watershed runs north, includes the headwaters of the Volga in the Waldai Heights , and is broken through by the White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal . About 300 kilometers northeast of the first point, east of Lake Onega in the extreme north of Vologda Oblast , near the border point with the Republic of Karelia and Arkhangelsk Oblast , is the second main watershed point in Europe ( 61 ° 28 ′ 0 ″ N , 37 ° 46 ′ 0 ″ O ), between the Baltic Sea, Caspian Sea and the Arctic Ocean .
The watershed of the Atlantic catchment area continues between Lake Onega and the White Sea , and further along the Karelian Maanselkä through Finland to the Norwegian border. Because from the North Cape to Spitsbergen - from a purely large-scale geographical order - the demarcation between the European North Sea as the Atlantic marginal sea and the Barents Sea , which is part of the Arctic Ocean , one could draw the watershed through the Finnmark to the North Cape. This route would not be of hydrographic importance. Primary here is the divide between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, which turns south again in the Scandinavian highlands .
The Arctic Ocean-Caspian Sea Sheath as part of the Eurasian main watershed to the Arctic Ocean follows - also soon afterwards crossed by the south branch of the Volga-Baltic Sea Canal between Rybinsk Reservoir and White Sea - the North Russian Land Ridge , between the extensive catchment area of the Volga and the White Sea flowing Onega and Dwina and the Pechora (to the Barents Sea). It reaches Asia in the northern Urals in the triangle of the Komi Republic , the Perm region and the Sverdlovsk Oblast ( 61 ° 39 ′ 48.6 ″ N , 59 ° 20 ′ 6.7 ″ E ). From there it follows the main Ural ridge to the south, between Kama (with Belaja and Ufa to the Volga) and Ob (to the Kara Sea , with Irtysh and Tobol ). In this course it is part of the Strahlberg internal Eurasian border. It remains to be seen to what extent it can still be considered “European” from the headwaters of the Urals south of Miass .
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