Roer
Roer Rur | |
---|---|
Location | |
Countries | |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | High Fens |
• elevation | 660 m (2,170 ft) |
Mouth | |
• location | Meuse |
• coordinates | 51°11′52″N 5°58′52″E / 51.19778°N 5.98111°E |
• elevation | 17 m (56 ft) |
Length | 164.5 km (102.2 mi) [1] |
Basin size | 2,361 km2 (912 sq mi) [1] |
Basin features | |
Progression | Meuse→ North Sea |
The Roer or Rur (
It is not to be confused with the rivers Ruhr and Röhr, which are tributaries of the Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Geography
The Roer rises in the High Fens, near the 696-metre (2,283 ft) high Signal de Botrange in Belgium at an elevation of 660 metres (2,170 ft) above sea level. South of Monschau it flows into Germany, through North Rhine-Westphalia. It flows first through the northern part of the Eifel mountains.
After 39 kilometres (24 mi) it reaches the Roer Reservoir, the second-largest artificial lake in Germany. After approximately 160 kilometres (99 mi) it flows into the Netherlands, and at its 170-kilometre (110 mi) mark it flows into the river Meuse in the city of Roermond.
Major tributaries of the Roer include the Inde and the Wurm. The towns along the Roer are Monschau, Heimbach, Nideggen, Düren, Jülich, Linnich, Hückelhoven, Heinsberg (all in Germany) and Roermond (Netherlands).
In the 1960s and 1970s, the northern part of the Roer was heavily polluted by the tailings of many German coal mines. Neither fish nor other organisms could be found, and it was dangerous to swim in the river. Foam flakes regularly flooded parts of the city of Roermond. After the closure of the mines, the waste water treatment in Germany and the Netherlands greatly improved. Only the lower part of the river is still contaminated.[3] The water in the upper part of the river is so clean that trout and more than 30 species of fish are back. After an absence of 125 years, salmon returned to the Roer in 2004.
Tributaries
History
During the
The Roer represented an important front in the Allied push towards Germany at the end of the
Between 16 December 1944 and 23 February 1945, the
Recreation
The Roer is the only real white water river in North Rhine-Westphalia. The upper section above the
See also
- Rurtalbahn(Roer Valley Railway) — tracks run approximately along the river, from Heimbach to Linnich.
References
- ^ a b Hydrographic Directory of the NRW State Office for Nature, the Environment and Consumer Protection (Gewässerverzeichnis des Landesamtes für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz NRW 2010) (xls; 4.67 MB)
- ^ Ambleve/Rour Amel/Rur
- ^ Water quality chart of the Rur published by the Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia
External links
Rur (river).