List of rivers of the Netherlands

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These are the main rivers of the Netherlands.

All of the Netherlands is drained into the North Sea, partly via the IJsselmeer lake. In the list below, rivers that flow into the sea are sorted following the North Sea coast (including IJsselmeer) from the Belgian border near Knokke to the German border near Emden. Rivers that flow into other rivers are sorted by the proximity of their points of confluence to the sea.

A large part of the Netherlands is located in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. The network of rivers is rather complex. The main routes of the rivers Scheldt, Meuse and Rhine are indicated in bold.

At the end of this article the rivers of the Netherlands are given alphabetically. See also Category:Rivers of the Netherlands and Category:Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta.

Note for additions: please remember to add the city where the river meets for each river.

Alphabetical list

Aa, Afgedamde Maas, Amer, Amstel, Beneden Merwede, Bergse Maas, Berkel, Bijlands Kanaal, Boven Merwede, Dieze, Dinkel, Dintel, Dommel, Dordtsche Kil, Ems, Geleenbeek, Gender, Geul, Gouwe, Grevelingen, Haringvliet, Hollands Diep, Hollandse IJssel, IJssel, Jeker, Keeten-Mastgat, Krammer, Kromme Rijn, Lauwers, Lek, Linge, Mark, Meuse, Nederrijn, Niers, Nieuwe Maas, Nieuwe Merwede, Nieuwe Waterweg, Noord, Oosterschelde, Oude IJssel, Oude Maas, Oude Rijn, Pannerdens Kanaal, Regge, Rhine, Rotte, Rur, Scheldt, Scheur, Schie, Schipbeek, Spaarne, Spui, Steenbergse Vliet, Swalm, Vecht (Overijssel), Vecht (Utrecht), Vliet, Voer, Volkerak, Waal, Western Scheldt, Wurm, Zaan, Zwarte Water

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meuse</span> River in western Europe

The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of 925 km.

<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">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">Afgedamde Maas</span> River in the Netherlands

The Afgedamde Maas is a former distributary of the Maas River in the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Gelderland. The Maas splits near Heusden with one channel flowing north until its confluence with the river Waal to form the Merwede, while the other channel continues west as the main distributary of the Maas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nieuwe Merwede</span> Canal in the Netherlands

The Nieuwe Merwede is a Dutch canal, mainly fed by the river Rhine, that was constructed in 1870 to form a branch in the Rhine–Meuse delta. It was dug along the general trajectories of a number of minor Biesbosch creeks to reduce the risk of flooding by diverting the water away from the Beneden Merwede, and to facilitate navigation and regulate river traffic in the increasingly silted-up delta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lek (river)</span> River in Netherlands

The Lek is a river in the western Netherlands of some 60 km (37 mi) in length. It is the continuation of the Nederrijn after the Kromme Rijn branches off at the town of Wijk bij Duurstede. The main westbound waterway is hereafter called the Lek River. The Nederrijn is, itself, a distributary branch of the river Rhine.

<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">Kromme Rijn</span> Branch of the Rhine ending at Utrecht, Netherlands

The Kromme Rijn is a river in the central Netherlands.

<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">Pannerdens Kanaal</span>

The Pannerdens Kanaal is a canal in the Netherlands that was dredged between 1701 and 1709 to cut off a large, shallow bend of the river Rhine and so improve river traffic and water regulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oude Rijn (Gelderland)</span>

Oude Rijn is the name of a long former bend in river Rhine in the Dutch province of Gelderland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bijlands Kanaal</span> Canal in Gelderland, the Netherlands

The Bijlands Kanaal is a canal in the Dutch province of Gelderland, near the Dutch-German border. It is currently by far the most important river-stretch of the Rhine when that major river enters the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oude Rijn (Utrecht and South Holland)</span> River in Netherlands

The Oude Rijn is a branch of the Rhine delta in the Dutch provinces of Utrecht and South Holland, starting west of Utrecht, at Harmelen and runs by a mechanical pumping station into the North Sea at Katwijk. Its present-day length is 52 kilometres.

<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">Merwede</span>

The Merwede is the name of several connected stretches of river in the Netherlands, between the cities of Woudrichem, Dordrecht and Papendrecht. The river is part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and is mostly fed by the river Rhine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rijnland</span>

The name Rijnland means "Rhineland" in Dutch. When referring to the Rhine in Germany, "Rijnland" has the same meaning as "Rhineland" in English or "Rheinland" in German. However, "Rijnland" has a specific, different meaning in a Dutch context - the area along the Oude Rijn.

<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 that may at first sight look bewildering, especially as a waterway that appears to be one continuous stream may change names as many as seven times, e.g. Rhine → Bijlands Kanaal → Pannerdens Kanaal → Nederrijn → Lek → Nieuwe Maas → Het Scheur → Nieuwe Waterweg. Since the Rhine contributes most of the water, the shorter term Rhine Delta is commonly used. However, this name is also used for the delta where the Alpine Rhine flows into Lake Constance, so it is clearer to call the larger one Rhine–Meuse delta, or even Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, as the Scheldt ends in the same delta. By some calculations, the delta covers 25,347 km2 (9,787 sq mi), making it the largest in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oude Maas</span> Distributary of the Rhine River in South Holland, Netherlands

The Oude Maas is a distributary of the river Rhine, and a former distributary of the river Maas, in the Dutch province of South Holland. It begins at the city of Dordrecht where the Beneden Merwede river splits into the Noord and the Oude Maas. It ends when it joins the Nieuwe Maas to form Het Scheur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaartse Rijn</span>

The Vaartse Rijn is a canal connecting the city of Utrecht with Nieuwegein and the Lek river in the Dutch province of Utrecht. The Vaartse Rijn was formerly a major shipping route between Utrecht and the Rhine basin.