Watersheds in Germany

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Significant watersheds are listed here, i.e. borders of catchment areas of large rivers or rivers that at least partially run in Germany .

Such watersheds can cross the borders of Germany if the rivers that continue their runoff originate or flow into other countries .

River basin districts in Germany
On Seehügel in Fichtelgebirge , the watershed between meet Rhine , Elbe and Danube

European main watershed

Rhine-Danube watershed

Old railway sign on the former Kempten – Isny ​​railway line pointing to the Rhine-Danube watershed
Reference to the European watershed in Pfrunger-Burgweiler Ried

The Rhine-Danube watershed cuts through southern Germany, passing through the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in a north-easterly direction , as well as part of the Alps in Austria and Switzerland .

Catchment areas: Waters towards the northwest flow into the Rhine , towards the southeast into the Danube .

Special features: The Rhine-Danube watershed has a special feature due to the seepage of the Danube near Immendingen : a considerable part of the water that seeps away there overcomes the watershed underground and occurs after about 11.7 km in the Aachtopf , which is located near Aach south of the Danube , out again. As a result, part of the Danube water flows over the Radolfzeller Aach, which rises from the Aachtopf, southwards into the Untersee ( Lake Constance ) and flows into the Rhine.

The regressive erosion of the Wutach resulted in a significant shift of the watershed in favor of the Rhine in the Black Forest due to the tapping of the Urdonau / Aitrach

Course: The Rhine-Danube watershed leads from the northern Rhaetian Alps ( Eastern Switzerland ) initially northwards across the Silvretta and Lechtal Alps to the Allgäu Alps (Austria and Germany). Then runs north of Lake Constance first northeast to the source of the Schussen , then southwest and west into the southern Black Forest , around the sources of Brigach and Breg, from there to the northeast over large parts of the Swabian Alb and then north to the Frankenhöhe . From there it stretches to the south-east to the Franconian Alb , which it partly passes to the north-west or exactly to the north. In this direction the watershed finally reaches the Fichtel Mountains .

Examples:

  • While the Elz , which rises east of the Brend in the southern Black Forest, mainly faces westwards directly to the Rhine, the Breg , which rises 900 meters further south-west between the mountains Brend and Roßeck and flows south-east, is one of the two source rivers alongside the Brigach Danube.

Danube-Main watershed

The Danube-Main watershed cuts as part of the Rhine-Danube watershed parts of southern Germany . It runs through northern Bavaria in particular in a north-easterly direction .

Catchment areas: Waters towards the southeast flow into the Danube , towards the northwest into the Main .

Special features: Through the Danube-Main crossing operated by the Free State of Bavaria , water from the Danube and the lower reaches of the Altmühl as well as floods from the upper Altmühl valley are transferred via reservoirs into the less rainy Rednitz valley in order to increase seasonal low water. Every year around 125 million cubic meters of water cross the watershed between the Danube and the Main.

Course: The Danube-Main watershed leads from the southern part of the Frankenhöhe to the northeast to the central part of the ridge. From there it runs south-east to the Franconian Alb , which it partly passes to the north-west or exactly to the north. In this direction the watershed finally reaches the Fichtel Mountains .

Watershed on the B 303 in the Fichtel Mountains

Examples:

  • While the Wörnitz , which rises on the east side of the Frankenhöhe in Schillingsfürst , faces the Danube directly to the south, the Tauber , which rises a little further west on the other side of the Frankenhöhe near Weikersholz ( Rot am See ), flows north-west into the Main .

Elbe-Danube watershed

The Elbe-Danube watershed cuts through northeast Bavaria, running in a southeastern direction from the Fichtel Mountains to the German-Czech border .

Catchment areas: waters to the north flow into the Elbe , to the south into the Danube .

Course: The Elbe-Danube watershed leads from the Fichtelgebirge over the Kosseine to the Steinwald , further on the southern edge of Mitterteich to the northern Upper Palatinate Forest near the Czech border, where it continues over the Bavarian Forest to the Bohemian Forest along the Czech- Austrian border. It ends at the Glatzer Schneeberg on the Polish- Czech border.

More watersheds

Rhine-Maas watershed

The Rhine - Maas watershed runs from the Netherlands near Nijmegen in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia (between Niers and Rhine ) and in the north-west of Rhineland-Palatinate, through Belgium and further south through France.

Catchment areas Eastward flow into the Rhine and Moselle , westward into the Meuse .

particularities

The watershed was changed in some places by human intervention. In the area of ​​the Rhine-Maas delta , the lower course of the Maas was separated from the Waal . The Meuse used to flow into the Waal at Woudrichem, and in 1904 the Meuse was diverted as Bergsche Maas in Hollands Diep . Human interference has also changed the watershed further south. In the Rhenish lignite mining area , the groundwater is pumped out over a large area to keep the open pit soil dry. The Hambach opencast mine is up to 293 m below sea ​​level . To the west of the opencast mine the Rur flows into the Meuse, to the east the Neffelbach flows over the Erft into the Rhine.

Course The watershed begins in France near the source of the Saône in the Vosges département between Neufchâteau (Vosges) and Épinal and runs north through Lorraine. Near Toul , west of Nancy , the distance between the Moselle and Meuse is only about 15 km. The two rivers are connected here by the Canal de la Marne au Rhin . The watershed runs briefly through Luxembourg , the Chiers flows into the Meuse, and all other waters in Luxembourg flow into the Moselle. The watershed runs through Arlon , Libramont-Chevigny , Bastogne , Aldringen and reaches the German border at Losheimergraben . In the northern Eifel are the sources of Kyll near Losheimergraben, Olef near Ramscheid , Urft near Schmidtheim , Ahr in Blankenheim (Ahr) and Erft near Nettersheim- Holzmülheim . From here the watershed runs east of the Rur over the Kermeter and then enters the Jülich-Zülpicher Börde and the North German Plain . After the Hambach and Garzweiler opencast mines , the watershed runs in the lowlands via Krefeld , Kleve and Nijmegen into the Betuwe . The Niers flows into the Meuse.

Between Tiel and 's-Hertogenbosch , the Maas and Waal are only 1 km apart before the rivers diverge again. The watershed ends on the land of Heusden and Altena at De Biesbosch National Park . Both Waal and Maas drain here into Hollands Diep and via the Delta Works into the North Sea .

Rhine-Ems watershed

The Rhine-Ems watershed cuts north-west Germany and the Netherlands , passing through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in a northerly direction and heading northwest to the North Sea.

Catchment areas: bodies of water flow eastwards into the Ems , westwards into the Rhine.

The Rhine-Ems watershed begins in the Teutoburg Forest between the Hermannsdenkmal and the Externsteinen . There it meets the Rhine-Weser watershed . This watershed point is marked with the three river stone .

Baumberge watershed

The Baumberge watershed cuts through northwestern Germany in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and part of the neighboring Netherlands .

Catchment areas: waters to the south drain to the Rhine , east to the Ems , northwest to the Zwarte Water and west to the IJssel .

The Baumberge watershed thus forms both the Rhine-Ems watershed and the Zwarte Water-IJssel watershed .

Course: The Baumberge watershed forms a kind of wedge, especially between the rivers of the Rhine and Ems. It is just a wedge line located approximately on the Westerberg , from which the flowing waters flow radially to four different rivers. This makes it shorter than most other watersheds.

Examples: The rivers that arise at the Baumberge watershed flow into four different rivers or river systems:

  • While the Vecht , in the northern tree mountains on the northern slope of the Weterbergs (not to be confused with We s terberg ) at Darfeld springs, to the northwest via the Zwarte Water into the IJsselmeer flows, the turns Berkel , in the western reaches of the tree mountains at Billerbeck rises to the west and flows into the IJssel , which also flows into the IJsselmeer.

Weser-Ems watershed

The Weser-Ems watershed cuts through northwest Germany , passing through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in a northerly direction and leading north to the North Sea.

Catchment areas: waters eastward flow into the Weser , westward into the Ems .

Special feature: Due to the bifurcation of the hare between Wellingholzhausen and Gesmold, the Weser-Ems watershed has a special feature, because a third of its water flows in an easterly direction over the Else and Werre into the Weser and the rest of it flows directly in a north-westerly direction - So over the Hase - flows into the Ems.

Course:

The Weser-Ems watershed begins in the Teutoburg Forest between the Hermannsdenkmal and the Externsteinen . There it meets the Rhine-Weser watershed and the Rhine-Ems watershed . This watershed point is marked with the three river stone . From there, the Weser-Ems watershed initially stretches within the mountain range in a north-westerly direction to the Hollandskopf . From this mountain this watershed runs east along the Hase to the aforementioned bifurcation of this river. Behind this river division, it stretches west along the Hunte further north into the Wiehen Mountains , which it runs through from south to north. Then she “hikes” over the Great Moor and the Dammer Mountains in the Dümmer Nature Park over the Arkeburg, which is exactly on the watershed, to Visbek . From there it runs between the Vehne and the Lethe and between the Zwischenahner Meer and Oldenburg further north in the direction of Wiesmoor , before finally reaching the North Sea coast in Harlinger Land .

Examples:

  • While the Johannisbach, which rises on the north side of the Teutoburg Forest, turns northwards over the Westfälische Aa and Werre towards the Weser, the Reiherbach , which rises a little further south on the other side of the ridge, flows southwest over the Gütersloher Lutter into the Ems .
  • While the Hunte , which rises north of Melle in the Wiehengebirge , turns north directly towards the Weser, the Hase, which rises a little further south-west of Melle on the north slope of the Teutoburg Forest, flows north-west directly into the Ems.
  • While the Lethe , which rises north of Cloppenburg in the Oldenburger Münsterland , turns northwards over the Hunte of the Weser, the Soeste , which rises a little further south of the Lethequelle east of Cloppenburg, flows northwest over the Leda into the Ems.
  • While the Visbeker Bruchbach, which rises southwest of Visbek, flows in a north-easterly direction over the Twillbäke , Aue and Hunte towards the Weser, the Vechtaer Moorbach , which rises in the immediate vicinity, flows in a southerly and then westerly direction over the Hase to the Ems.

Rhine-Weser watershed

Course of the Rhine-Weser watershed in Central Hesse

The long Rhine-Weser watershed runs in a zigzag course through northern, central and western Germany . From north to south it runs through North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia (in the last two federal states mentioned, the watershed runs sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other side of the state border).

Catchment areas: Waters in western directions drain to the Rhine, in eastern directions to the Weser.

Course: The Rhine-Weser watershed begins in the extreme south of the Teutoburg Forest at the watershed point with the Weser-Ems watershed marked with the three-river stone . The Rhine-Weser watershed continues from there southwards over the Eggegebirge , the Sintfeld , the Briloner heights , the Hoch- Sauerland , the Upland and the Rothaargebirge . The Rhine-Weser watershed stretches eastwards through the Wittgensteiner Land over the Burgwald to the southern Kellerwald from the southern areas of the latter low mountain range . From there the watershed runs south to the Vogelsberg and then east to the Rhön , to finally reach the Thuringian Forest or the Thuringian Slate Mountains.

The course of the Rhine-Weser watershed looks like this in detail:

The first north-south axis

The first east-west axis

The second north-south axis

The second west-east axis

Rhine-Weser watershed between Motten and Kothen in the Bad Kissingen district

Examples:

  • While the Hillebach , which rises at the junction of the mountain regions Rothaargebirge, Sauerland and Upland on the Hillekopf , turns over the Ruhr to the Rhine, the Hoppecke flows, which rises on the northern side of the mountain ridge there on the Neuen Hagen in the Hoch-Sauerland , across the Diemel to the Upper Weser.
  • While the Sieg and the Lahn , seen from the Ederkopf in the Rothaargebirge for example, head for the Rhine directly and ultimately in a westerly direction, the Eder flows in an easterly direction over the Fulda into the Ober-Weser.
  • While the streu , which rises in the Rhön on the southeast slope of the Elbow , turns over the Franconian Saale and the Main to the Rhine, the Ulster , which rises a little further south on the other side of the Rhön main ridge on the northern slope of the Heidelstein, flows over the Werra in the Weser.
  • While the Itz , which rises in the Thuringian slate mountains on the Bleßberg , turns over the Main to the Rhine, the Werra , one of two controversial sources on the other side of the mountain, flows into the Weser.

Elbe-Weser watershed

The elongated Elbe-Weser watershed runs in a zigzag course through northern and central Germany . It runs through the federal states of Lower Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia from north to south .

Catchment areas: waters to the east flow into the Elbe , to the west into the Weser .

Course: The Elbe-Weser watershed leads from Hohen Lieth on the North Sea , initially mainly in a south-easterly direction over the Lüneburg Heath , the Flechtinger ridge to Hohen Holz . There, the Weser area with the upper reaches of the Aller forms an indentation into the Elbe area and the line swings north over the Lappwald southwest to Elm and Asse . From there it is largely south across the Great Fallstein , the resin , the Ohmgebirge , the Eichsfeld , the Hainich that Fahner height and the Thuringian Forest to the Thuringian Slate Mountains .

The Elbe-Weser watershed runs from north to south as follows:

Examples:

  • While the Ohre , which rises at the junction of the Lüneburg Heath and the Altmark, southeast of Wittingen in Ohrdorf, faces the Elbe directly to the southeast, the Ise , which rises northeast of Wittingen and east of Stöcken, not far from the border with Saxony-Anhalt, flows to the south over the Aller into the Weser.
  • While the Holtemme , which rises in the Harz east of the Hohneklippen (west of Elbingerode ), turns to the northeast across the Bode and Saale of the Elbe, the Ilse flows a little further west on the other side of the Hohneklippen and thus below the Brocken , to the northwest over the Oker and Aller into the Weser.
  • While the Wipper , which rises in Eichsfeld north of Worbis in the Ohm Mountains, turns east over the Unstrut and Saale to the Elbe, the Leine , which rises just a little further southwest at the west foot of the Ohm Mountains near Worbis, flows west over the Aller into the Weser.
  • While the Ilm , which rises in the Thuringian Forest near Allzunah on the Rennsteig , turns to the northeast over the Saale of the Elbe, the lock , which rises just a few hundred meters south on the other side of the Rennsteig, flows south into the Werra , the northwest with the Fulda forms the Weser.

Curiosity: The Flößgraben in Georgenthal overcomes the Elbe-Weser watershed.

Rhine-Elbe watershed

The short Rhine-Elbe watershed is located roughly at the interface between central and southern Germany, where it crosses the borders of the federal states of Thuringia and Bavaria and the Rennsteig. For the most part, it is more specifically the watershed between Main and Saale , and on the last part in the Fichtelgebirge between Main and Eger .

Catchment areas: Waters to the south flow into the Rhine, to the north into the Elbe.

Course: The Rhine-Elbe watershed leads from the Thuringian Slate Mountains in a south-easterly direction over the Franconian Forest to the Fichtel Mountains. The north-west running Rhine-Weser watershed and the Elbe-Weser watershed adjoin it in the west. The main European watershed connects to the south and east : the Elbe-Danube watershed , which runs from the Fichtelgebirge to the southeast and the Rhine-Danube watershed to the south .

The course of the Rhine-Elbe watershed looks like this in detail:

Examples:

  • While the Rodach , which rises near Rodacherbrunn am Rennsteig in the Thuringian Slate Mountains, turns south-west over the Main to the Rhine, the Sormitz , which rises a little further north on the other side of the ridge near Wurzbach, flows over the Saale into the Elbe.

North Sea-Baltic Sea Divide

The North Sea-Baltic Sea watershed cuts through North, East and Central Germany, passing through the federal states of Schleswig-Holstein , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Brandenburg and Saxony in a north-west-south-east direction . It leads from the Danish border across the aforementioned German areas to the Czech border and extends beyond the respective borders.

Diemel-Eder / Fulda / Weser watershed

The Diemel-Eder / Fulda / Weser watershed runs in a west-east direction through northwestern Hesse .

Catchment areas: Streams and rivers in the north-west and west drain over the Diemel to the Weser , in the south-east and east over the Eder and the Fulda into the Weser. Initially this watershed separates the catchment areas of Diemel and Eder, then the Diemel and Fulda and finally from Diemel and Weser.

Course: From the junction of the mountain regions of Rothaargebirge , Sauerland and Upland , which flow into one another , the three-part watershed leads through the Diemelsee Nature Park , Korbach , the Long Forest and the Habichtswald Nature Park to the east and then northwards through the Reinhardswald to the Weser knee near Bad Karlshafen .

The Diemel-Eder / Fulda / Weser watershed runs from west to east as follows:

Example:

  • While the southern or right tributaries of the Diemel (e.g. Twiste , Warme , Esse and Holzape ) only face the Upper Weser via the Diemel, the northern and left tributaries of the Eder (e.g. Itter , Werbe or Elbe and Ems ), which arise on the southern side of this rather elongated watershed, take a detour via the Eder or Fulda to the Upper Weser.

River basins

The catchment areas of the major rivers in Germany are grouped into ten river basins: Rhine , Elbe , Danube , Weser , Ems , Warnow / Peene , Oder , Schlei / Trave , Eider and Maas . Smaller rivers that flow directly into the North Sea or the Baltic Sea are assigned to the nearest larger river (example: the catchment area of ​​the Jade is added to that of the Weser).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Balance of the water management office Ansbach on the transition Danube-Main ( Memento from February 4th 2012 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

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