Meuse River

The Meuse (Dutch & German Maas) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea. It has a total length of 925 km (575 miles).

Geography

The Meuse rises in the commune of Le Châtelet-sur-Meuse on the Langres Plateau in France from where it flows northwards past Sedan (the head of navigation) and Charleville-Mézières into Belgium. At Namur it is joined by the River Sambre. Beyond Namur the Meuse winds eastwards, skirting the Ardennes, and passes Liège before turning north. The river then forms part of the Belgian-Dutch border, except that at Maastricht the border lies further to the west. In the Netherlands it continues northwards past Venlo closely along the border to Germany, then turns towards the west, merging with the Rhine into an extensive delta. The river divides near Heusden into the Afgedamde Maas on the right and the Bergse Maas on the left. The Bergse Maas continues via the Amer, and merges with the Nieuwe Merwede to the Hollands Diep, before finally flowing into the North Sea via the Haringvliet.

The Meuse is crossed by railway bridges between the following stations (on the left and right banks respectively):

• Netherlands:
  • Blerick – Venlo
  • Cuijk – Nijmegen Heyendaal
  • Ravenstein – Wijchen
  • 's-Hertogenbosch – Zaltbommel

There are also numerous road bridges and around 32 ferry crossings.

The Meuse is navigable over a substantial part of its total length: In the Netherlands and Belgium, the river is part of the major inland navigation infrastructure, connecting the Rotterdam-Amsterdam-Antwerp port areas to the industrial areas upstream: 's Hertogenbosch, Venlo, Maastricht, Liège, Namur. Between Maastricht and Maasbracht, an unnavigable section of the Meuse is bypassed by the 36 km Juliana Canal. South of Namur, further upstream, the river can only carry more modest vessels, although a barge as long as 100 m. can still reach the French border town of Givet.

From Givet, the river is canalized over a distance of 272 kilometers. The canalized Meuse used to be called the "Canal de l'Est - Branche Nord" but was recently rebaptized into "Canal de la Meuse". The waterway can be used by the smallest barges that are still in use commercially (almost 40 meters long and just over 5 meters wide). Just upstream of the town of Commercy, the Canal de la Meuse connects with the Canal de la Marne au Rhin by means of a short diversion canal. (Source: NoorderSoft Waterways database)

The Cretaceous sea reptile Mosasaur is named after the river Meuse. The first fossils of it were discovered outside Maastricht 1780.

Tributaries

The main tributaries of the river Meuse are listed below in downstream-upstream order, with the town where the tributary meets the river:

• • Dieze (near 's-Hertogenbosch)
    • Aa (in 's-Hertogenbosch)
    • Dommel (in 's-Hertogenbosch)
      • Gender (in Eindhoven)
  • Niers (in Gennep)
  • Swalm (in Swalmen)
  • Rur/Roer (in Roermond)
    • Wurm (in Heinsberg, Germany)
    • Merzbach (in Linnich, Germany)
    • Inde (in Jülich, Germany)
  • Geleenbeek (near Maasbracht)
  • Geul (near Meerssen)
  • Geer/Jeker (in Maastricht)
  • Voer/Fouron (in Eijsden)
  • Berwinne/Berwijn (near Moelingen, part of Voeren)
  • Ourthe (in Liège)
    • Weser/Vesdre (near Liège)
    • Amel/Amblève (in Comblain-au-Pont)
      • Salm (in Trois-Ponts)
      • Warche (near Malmedy)
  • Hoyoux (in Huy)
  • Sambre (in Namur)
  • Bocq (in Yvoir)
  • Molignée (in Anhée)
  • Lesse (in Anseremme, part of Dinant)
  • Viroin (in Vireux-Molhain)
  • Semois or Semoy (in Monthermé)
  • Bar (near Dom-le-Mesnil)
  • Chiers (in Bazeilles)

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Départements, provinces and towns

The Meuse flows through the following departments of France, provinces of Belgium, provinces of the Netherlands and towns:

• Haute-Marne (F)
• Vosges (F): Neufchâteau
• Meuse (F): Commercy, Saint-Mihiel, Verdun, Stenay
• Ardennes (F): Sedan, Charleville-Mézières, Givet
• Namur (B): Dinant, Namur
• Liège (B): Huy, Liège, Visé
• Limburg (NL): Maastricht, Roermond, Venlo
• Limburg (B): Maaseik
• North Brabant (NL): Boxmeer, Heusden
• Gelderland (NL): Maasdriel

See also

• "Das Lied der Deutschen ("The Song of the Germans"), also known as Das Deutschlandlied ("The Song of Germany"), written in 1841, describes a then yet to unite Germany, with the Maas as the Western border, as the river runs closely along the border to the Netherlands

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