Rivers Flashcards
This river begins in the Swiss Alps, passes through Lake Constance (in German, the Bodensee), flows west along the German-Swiss border, then turns north to form part of the German-French border. The river then flows north and joins with the Meuse and Scheldt to enter the North Sea at a delta in the Netherlands. Cities along its course include Basel, Strasbourg, Mainz, Bonn, Cologne, and Rotterdam, and tributaries include the Main, Mosel, and Ruhr. This river has played a strategic role in most German conflicts since the time of the Gallic Wars but was not established as an international waterway until the Rhine Commission of 1815. German myth tells of the Lorelei, a nymph who lured sailors on this river to their deaths.
Rhine
Though only the second-longest river in France (behind the Loire), this river is of key importance, as it flows through Paris. Starting on the Plateau de Langres near Dijon, this river weaves northwest for 485 miles to enter the English Channel near Le Havre. Along the way, it passes through Troyes, Fontainebleau, and Rouen. The Seine is France’s chief transport waterway, along with its tributaries the Marne and Oise.
Seine
This river is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of 625 miles, it drains 45,195 sq miles, more than a fifth of France’s land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône.
Loire
This river is the principal river of the Iberian Peninsula. Rising in east-central Spain, it flows west for roughly 645 miles to the Atlantic, passing through Lisbon, Portugal on the way. The cities of Toledo and Santarém are on this river, and hydroelectric dams on the river produce huge artificial lakes, including the Sea of Castile.
Tagus
One of Europe’s few major rivers to flow directly into the Mediterranean (via the Gulf of Lion), this river originates in the Swiss Alps and flows into Lake Geneva. It emerges from Geneva and flows south, passes through Lyon, Avignon, and Arles, and enters the sea just west of Marseille. At Arles, the river splits into “grand” and “petit” branches that encircle the island of Camargue. The river’s valley is famous for its red wine, and because it is navigable for 300 miles, this river is the key access route of southern France.
Rhone
Most of this river is in Eastern Europe, but it begins in Germany’s Black Forest near Freiburg, crossing Bavaria before it enters Austria. In all, it passes through 10 nations on its 1,785-mile course ending at the Black Sea. Chief tributaries include the Drava and Sava, and it passes through four national capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade. Formerly known as the Ister, the Danube was often used to define a northern border for the Roman Empire.
Danube
This river, also called Dnipro or Dniapro, is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately 1,400 miles long, with a drainage basin of 195,000 sq miles, it is the longest river in Ukraine and Belarus and the fourth-longest river in Europe, after the Volga, Danube, and Ural rivers.
Dnieper River
This river is transboundary in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Ukrainian territory again.
Dniester
This river is the longest in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of 2,194 miles and a catchment area of 530,000 sq miles.
Volga
This river, known before 1775 as the Yaik, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan on the continental border between Europe and Asia. It originates in the southern Ural Mountains and discharges into the Caspian Sea. At 1,509 miles, it is the third-longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube, and the 18th-longest river in Asia.
Ural River
