At 1,320 km (820 miles), the Rhine River ( German Rhein, French Rhin, Dutch Rijn) is one of the longest rivers in Europe. Its name is derived from the Celtic word "renos" (meaning "raging flow"). Together with the Danube it formed most of the northern frontier of the Roman Empire60 and 400 with major cities. During this time only Dacia and Mesopotamia were added to the Empire but were lost before 300. The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman state in the centuries following its reorganization under t and since those days has been a vital navigable waterway, carrying trade and goods deep inland.
1 Geography
The Rhine's origins are in the Swiss AlpsThe Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria in the east, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany, through to France in the west. The highest mountain in the Alps is the Mon in the canton of Graubünden, where its two main initial tributariesA tributary (or affluent or confluent is a contributory stream, a river that does not reach the sea, but joins another major river (a parent river), to which it contributes its waters, swelling its discharge. A tributary joins another river at a confluenc 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 Hinterrein (posterior Rhine) starts from the Paradies glacier near the Rheinquellhorn at the south border of Switzerland. Both tributaries meet near ReichenauAlternate uses: Reichenau island, monastery of Reichenau Reichenau is a village in the municipality of Tamins in the canton of Graubunden, Switzerland, where the two Rhine tributaries Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein meet. It is a major traffic junction of the, still in the Grisons.
When leaving the Grisons, the Rhine flows north to along the frontier to Liechtenstein and Austria, and then empties into Lake ConstanceLake Constance ( German Bodensee also known as Schwabisches Meer (informally) and sometimes written Lake of Constance is a lake on the Rhine between Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The freshwater lake sits at 395 m above sea level and is central Europe'. The Rhine then re-emerges, flows west, mainly on the border between Switzerland and Germany, falls over the Rhine Falls, is joined by the Aar river which more than doubles its water volume, and then turns north at Basel and forms the southern part of the border between Germany and France in a wide valley, before entering Germany exclusively.
At over 800 km, 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 the Moselle. The wider Rhine valley ends at the confluence with the Main and the Rhine then enters a more narrow valley, which widens again south of Cologne. Though many industries can be found all along the Rhine up onto Switzerland, it is here that the bulk of them are concentrated in the Ruhr area, with all of its water draining into the Rhine, causing decreasing though still considerable pollution.
The Rhine then turns west into the Netherlands, where together with the Meuse it forms an extensive delta. Crossing the border into the Netherlands, the Rhine is at its widest, but the river then splits in three main distributaries: the IJssel, the Waal and the Nederrijn (Nether Rhine). 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 flows further west through the Waal and then via the Nieuwe Waterweg and, merging with the Meuse, through the Hollands Diep and Haringvliet estuaries into the North Sea. The IJssel branch carries its portion of the water north into the IJsselmeer while the Nederrijn flows west parallel to the Waal.
However, beyond Wijk bij Duurstede this waterway changes its name and becomes the Lek. It flows further west to rejoin the main flow into the Nieuwe Waterweg. The name "Rhine" from here on is used only for smaller streams further 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 (" Leiden Rhine") and then Oude Rijn ("Old Rhine"). The latter flows west past Leiden into a sluice, where its waters can be discharged into the North Sea.
