List of rivers discharging into the North Sea

Last updated

Main affluents

The main affluents of North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat
NameMean
Discharge		LengthBasinStatesCourse
Rhine 2900 m³/s
(R-M-delta)
2300 m³/s   (proper)  		1238.8 km (with Hinterrhein)
1240 km (with Vorderrhein)		197,100 km2 (76,100 sq mi)
(with Meuse) [1] 		Switzerland (sources), Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France, Netherlands,
Luxembourg (Moselle), Italy (Reno di Lei)		smallest flow: Dischmabach → Landwasser → Albula → Hinterrhein (sum = 72 km) → Rhine
longest course: Rein da Medel → Vorderrhein (sum = 74 km)→ Rhine
Elbe   870 m³/s1094 km (nominally)
1245 km (hydrologically)		148,268 km2 (57,247 sq mi) [1] the Czech Republic (sources), Germany, Austria (Lainsitz), Poland (Dzika Orlica and smaller affluents)longer and larger tributary Vltava
Glomma   698 m³/s  601 km 41,917 km2 (16,184 sq mi)Norway, Sweden (affluents)Glomma → lake Aursunden → Glomma → Skagerrak
Göta älv   575 m³/s   93 km (nominally)
  720 km (hydrologically)		 50,229.3 km2 (19,393.6 sq mi)Sweden, Norway (Trysilelva) Rogen → lake Femund → Trysilelva → Klarälven → lake Vänern → Göta älv → Kattegat [2]
IJssel    380 m³/s
(75% from Rhine) [3] 		  125 km (nominally)
  188 km (with Oude IJssel)		 4,533 km2 (1,750 sq mi)Netherlands, Germany (source Oude IJssel) Oude IJssel → IJssel → Ketelmeer → IJsselmeer → Wadden Sea
Meuse   357 m³/s  874 km 33,000 km2 (13,000 sq mi) [1] France (source), Belgium, Netherlands,
Luxembourg (Chiers), Germany (Rur, S(ch)walm, Niers)		sharing mouths of the Rhine
Weser   327 m³/s  451.4 km (nominally)
  751 km (with Werra)		 41,094 km2 (15,866 sq mi) [4] Germanyformed by confluence of Werra (longer) and Fulda (larger)
Drammenselva   314 m³/s   48 km (nominally)
  301 km (system)		 17,110 km2 (6,610 sq mi)Norway… → Slidrefjorden → Strondafjorden → Aurdalsfjorden → Begna → Sperillen → Ådalselva → Randselva → Storelva
→ Tyrifjorden → Drammenselva → Oslofjord
Humber
(estuary)		  250 m³/s
(without tide flows)		   62 km (nominally)
  359 km (with Trent)		 24,240 km2 (9,360 sq mi) [5] Englandcommon estuary of Trent and Ouse (see below)
Tay   170 m³/s  193 km 6,216 km2 (2,400 sq mi) [6] ScotlandRiver Tay → Firth of Tay (estuary, included in the figures)
Otra   150 m³/s  245 km 3,740 km2 (1,440 sq mi)Norway→ Skagerrak
Sira   130 m³/s  152 km 1,902 km2 (734 sq mi)Norway
Scheldt   127 m³/s  360 km 21,863 km2 (8,441 sq mi) [1] France (source), Belgium, Netherlands (estuary)
River Forth   112 m³/s   47 km (nominally)
   55 km (hydrologically)		 1,029 km2 (397 sq mi) [7] [8] Scotland→ Firth of Forth
Numedalslågen   111 m³/s  352 km 5,554 km2 (2,144 sq mi)Norway→ Skagerrak
Trent    99 m³/s  297 km 10,452 km2 (4,036 sq mi)England→ Humber (see above)
Tweed    85 m³/s  156 km 1,080 km2 (420 sq mi) [9] Scotland (source), England
Lagan    82 m³/s  244 km 6,451.8 km2 (2,491.1 sq mi)Sweden→ Kattegat [2]
Ems    80.5 m³/s  371 km 13,160 km2 (5,080 sq mi) [1] Germany, Netherlands (estuary)
Thames    65.8 m³/s  346 km 12,935 km2 (4,994 sq mi) [10] England
Spey    64 m³/s  173 km 3,008 km2 (1,161 sq mi) [11] Scotland→ Moray Firth
Ätran    52.5 m³/s  243 km 3,342.2 km2 (1,290.4 sq mi)Sweden→ Kattegat [2]
Zwarte Water    50 m³/s  19 km (nominally)
  201 km (with Vecht)		 5,741 km2 (2,217 sq mi)Germany (source), Netherlands Vecht/Vechte → Zwarte Water → Zwarte Meer → IJsselmeer → Wadden Sea
River Tyne    44.6 m³/s  321.4 km 2,200 km2 (850 sq mi) [4] England
Yorkshire Ouse    44 m³/s  208 km (with Ure) 3,315 km2 (1,280 sq mi)EnglandUre → Ouse → Humber (see above)
Nissan    41 m³/s  200 km 2,686 km2 (1,037 sq mi)Sweden→ Kattegat
Skjern Å    36.6 m³/s   94 km 2,100 km2 (810 sq mi) [12] Denmark→ Ringkøbing Fjord (lagoon)
Great Ouse    35 m³/s  270 km 8,530 km2 (3,290 sq mi)England→ The Wash
Gudenå  32.4 m³/s [13]    149 km 2,643 km2 (1,020 sq mi) [12] Denmark→ Kattegat [2]

Long list

Austrian drainage basin

Belgian drainage basin

Danish drainage basins

English drainage basins

Flowing into the North Sea – Thames and Medway

From Foreness Point to Shoeburyness

Flowing into the North Sea – North of the Thames Estuary

Aerial view of the Thames in London IMG 0071 - England, London.JPG
Aerial view of the Thames in London
The mouth of the Gaywood River at King's Lynn. RIVER GAYWOOD the mouth of the river at Kings Lynn joining the river Great Ouse 12th March 2007.JPG
The mouth of the Gaywood River at King's Lynn.
The Mouth of the River Burn at Overy Creek, Norfolk The Mouth of the River Burn at Burnham Overy Staithe 5th April 2007 (1).JPG
The Mouth of the River Burn at Overy Creek, Norfolk

From Shoeburyness to St Abb's Head

River Hundred (Benacre, Kessingland

French drainage basin

The Aa Merck-aa.jpg
The Aa

The Aa is an 89 km long river in northern France. Its source is near the village Bourthes. It flows through the départements and cities of Pas-de-Calais: Saint-Omer and Nord: Gravelines.

Contents

German drainage basin

The major German rivers Germanymap2.png
The major German rivers

The three main rivers in Germany are the Rhine (German : Rhein) (main tributaries including the Neckar, the Main and the Moselle (Mosel)); the Elbe (also drains into the North Sea); and, the Danube (Donau).

German rivers draining into the North Sea

The rivers in this section are sorted south-west (Netherlands) to east (Danish border).

The Elbe at Dresden Elbe River at Dresden.jpg
The Elbe at Dresden

Netherlands drainage basin

The Rhine at the Loreley Loreley von Spitznack.jpg
The Rhine at the Loreley
Limmat in Zurich ZurichStPeter.jpg
Limmat in Zürich
Hotton, view on the Ourthe and the city church. Hotton JPG01.jpg
Hotton , view on the Ourthe and the city church.
The Scheldt in Antwerp Schelde Antwerpen.jpg
The Scheldt in Antwerp

Norwegian drainage basin

Scotland drainage basin

Swedish drainage basin

Switzerland drainage basin

The Rhine, together with its tributaries the Aare and the Thur drain about two thirds of the water into the North Sea.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhine</span> Major river in Western Europe

The Rhine is one of the major European rivers. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein, Swiss-Austrian, and Swiss-German borders. After that the Rhine defines much of the Franco-German border, after which it flows in a mostly northerly direction through the German Rhineland. Finally in Germany, the Rhine turns into a predominantly westerly direction and flows into the Netherlands where it eventually empties into the North Sea. It drains an area of 9,973 sq km and its name derives from the Celtic Rēnos. There are also two German states named after the river, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flevoland</span> Province of the Netherlands

Flevoland is the twelfth and newest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the country in the former Zuiderzee, which was turned into the freshwater IJsselmeer by the closure of the Afsluitdijk in 1932. Almost all of the land belonging to Flevoland was reclaimed in the 1950s and 1960s while splitting the Markermeer and Bordering lakes from the IJsselmeer. As to dry land, it is the smallest province of the Netherlands at 1,412 km2 (545 sq mi), but not gross land as that includes much of the waters of the fresh water lakes (meres) mentioned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IJsselmeer</span> Lake in the Netherlands

The IJsselmeer, also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed-off inland bay in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of 1,100 km2 (420 sq mi) with an average depth of 4.5 m (15 ft). The river IJssel flows into the IJsselmeer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuiderzee</span> Former inland sea in the Netherlands, now the IJsselmeer

The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km inland and at most 50 km wide, with an overall depth of about 4 to 5 metres (13–16 feet) and a coastline of about 300 km. It covered 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi). Its name is Dutch for "southern sea", indicating that the name originates in Friesland, to the north of the Zuiderzee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overijssel</span> Province of the Netherlands

Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the Episcopal principality of Utrecht by which it was held until 1528. The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede. The province had a population of 1,184,333 as of December 2023. The land mostly consists of grasslands and some forests ; it also borders a small part of the IJsselmeer to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IJssel</span> River in the Netherlands

The IJssel is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer, a North Sea natural harbour. It more immediately flows into the east-south channel around the Flevopolder, Flevoland which is kept at 3 metres below sea level. This body of water is then pumped up into the IJsselmeer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuiderzee Works</span> Land reclamation in the Netherlands

The Zuiderzee Works is a system of dams and dikes, land reclamation and water drainage work, which was the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The project involved the damming of the Zuiderzee, a large, shallow inlet of the North Sea, and the reclamation of land in the newly enclosed water using polders. Its main purposes are to improve flood protection and create additional land for agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nederrijn</span> Dutch portion of the Rhine river

Nederrijn is the Dutch part of the Rhine from the confluence at the town of Angeren of the cut-off Rhine bend of Oude Rijn (Gelderland) and the Pannerdens Kanaal. The city of Arnhem lies on the right (north) bank of the Nederrijn, just past the point where the IJssel branches off. The Nederrijn flows on to the city of Wijk bij Duurstede, from where it continues as the Lek. The once-important but now small Kromme Rijn branch carries the name "Rhine" towards the city of Utrecht.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vecht (Utrecht)</span> River in the Netherlands

The Vecht is a Rhine branch in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is sometimes called Utrechtse Vecht to avoid confusion with its Overijssel counterpart. The area along the river is called the Vechtstreek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zwarte Water</span> River in Netherlands

The Zwarte Water is a river in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is formed just south of the city of Zwolle when two streams, the Soestwetering and the Nieuwe Wetering, merge. The Zwarte Water then flows north through Zwolle, bends to the northeast, takes in the Vecht near Hasselt and flows past the town of Zwartsluis to discharge itself in the Zwarte Meer near Genemuiden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oude IJssel</span> River in Germany and the Netherlands

The Oude IJssel or Issel is a river in Germany and the Netherlands approximately 82 km (51 mi) long. It is a right tributary of the river IJssel. Oude IJssel is Dutch for "Old IJssel"; the Oude IJssel was the upper course of the IJssel until the connection with the Rhine was dug, possibly in the Roman era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Rhine</span> Lower portion of the Rhine river

The Lower Rhine flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands ; alternatively, Lower Rhine may refer to the part upstream of Pannerdens Kop, excluding the Nederrijn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flood control in the Netherlands</span> Manmade control of flooding in the Netherlands

Flood control is an important issue for the Netherlands, as due to its low elevation, approximately two thirds of its area is vulnerable to flooding, while the country is densely populated. Natural sand dunes and constructed dikes, dams, and floodgates provide defense against storm surges from the sea. River dikes prevent flooding from water flowing into the country by the major rivers Rhine and Meuse, while a complicated system of drainage ditches, canals, and pumping stations keep the low-lying parts dry for habitation and agriculture. Water control boards are the independent local government bodies responsible for maintaining this system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta</span> Delta formed by 3 rivers in the Netherlands

The Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta is a river delta in the Netherlands formed by the confluence of the Rhine, the Meuse and the Scheldt rivers. In some cases, the Scheldt delta is considered a separate delta to the Rhine–Meuse delta. The result is a multitude of islands, branches and branch names, in which a waterway that appears to be one continuous stream may have numerous separate names for different sections, e.g. Rhine → Bijlands Kanaal → Pannerdens Kanaal → Nederrijn → Lek → Nieuwe Maas → Het Scheur → Nieuwe Waterweg. Since the Rhine contributes most of the water, the term "Rhine Delta" is commonly used, although this name is also used for the delta where the Alpine Rhine flows into Lake Constance. By some calculations, the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta covers 25,347 km2 (9,787 sq mi), making it the largest in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Eau</span> River in Lincolnshire, England

The River Eau is a 15-mile-long (24 km) tributary of the River Trent that flows through Lincolnshire, England.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 McAlister, Elaine; Nelleke Domburg; Tony Edwards; Bob Ferrier. "Hydrological Modelling of the River Ythan using ArcInfo GRID". Macaulay Land Use Research Institute. Archived from the original on 2008-07-26. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Leibniz-Institut für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde: Gehört das Kattegatt noch zur Ostsee (Is the Kattegat a part of the Baltic Sea?) → By physical criteria, the border between North Sea and Baltic sea is in the Øresund at Drodgen Sill and in the Great Belt near Langeland
  3. ↑ Hydrological trends IJsselmeer (in Dutch)
  4. 1 2 Milliman, John D.; Syvitski, James P. M. "Geomorphic/Tectonic Control of Sediment Discharge to the Ocean: The Importance of Small Mountainous Rivers". Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  5. ↑ Appleton, Tamsin (24 November 2008). "Environment Agency – More about Humber RBD" (cached). Subjects > Water Quality > WFD > RBD information > Humber RBD > More about Humber RBD. The Environment Agency. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  6. ↑ Hopkin, John; Duffy, Philip; Blades, Heather (2002). "What causes the River Tay in Scotland to flood?" (Digitized by Google Books online). Geography Matters Scotland. Heinemann. p. 132. ISBN   978-0-435-35543-2 . Retrieved 2008-12-05.
  7. ↑ http://www.sepa,org.uk/system_pages/search.aspx?q=Forth [ dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS)" (PDF). Ramsar Information Sheet: UK13017 Firth of Forth. JNCC: Version 3.0. 13 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-04.The catchment area of both the River Forth and Firth of Forth Estuary.
  9. ↑ "Where is the River Tweed - Ask.com". Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  10. ↑ Ojo, Michael; Fuller, Terence W. (12 July 2007). "London Councils' TEC Executive Sub-Committee Water Framework Directive" (doc). Babtie Group. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  11. ↑ Riddell, Keith J.; Fuller, Terence W. (1995). "The Spey Bay geomorphological study". Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. Babtie Group. 20 (7): 671–686. Bibcode:1995ESPL...20..671R. doi:10.1002/esp.3290200709.
  12. 1 2 Miljø og Energiministeriet: Afstrømningsforhold i danske vandløb (2000), p. 16
  13. ↑ A bit lesser than Skjern Å
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