Birs

Birs
Laufen
Location
Country	Switzerland
Physical characteristics
Mouth	Rhine
• coordinates	47°33′28″N 7°37′04″E / 47.5579°N 7.6177°E / 47.5579; 7.6177
Length	73 km (45 mi)
Basin features
Progression	Rhine→ North Sea

The Birs (French: Birse) is a 73-kilometre (45 mi) long river in Switzerland that flows through the

.

Course

The Birs has its source in a spring near the Col de Pierre Pertuis at 762 metres (2,500 ft) above sea level a little southwest of Tavannes in the Jura bernois. It starts as a proper river; the large amount of water is the product of an extended underground river system.

The Birs runs through wider valleys (Vallée de Tavannes) and narrow gorges. Near

it forms a waterfall, which was the source of power and of the name of the city.

At the gorge of

, the Birs is rich in fresh-water crabs, the native species of which are now threatened by the American red crab. Earlier, the Birs was polluted and dammed, but it has largely been restored to its original state.

The Reinacherheide is a wildlife preserve with 83 species of bird.

The mouth of the Birs was hardly settled until the 18th century. Today, the city of Birsfelden stands there. The lower stretches of the Birs form the border between Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft. In 2004, it was restored from a concrete canal to a more natural river. Beavers have even been sighted along the river. The Birs also forms the border between the cities of Basel and Birsfelden. It flows into the Rhine at Birskopf after 73 kilometres (45 mi).

See also

• Birsköpfli

References

• Birs in the Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz

Picture gallery

• 
  The Birs Source south of Tavannes
• 
  Headwaters of the Birs by Tavannes
• 
  The Birs south of Court (Gorges de Court)
• 
  Gorges de Moutier
• 
  The restored Birs in Münchenstein
• 
  The Birs by the

  Elektra Birseck Münchenstein
• 
  Birs waterfall in the Neue Welt, Münchenstein
• 
  The Birs by Birsfelden
• 
  Aerial view of the Rhine, with Birs entering the Rhine