FAQ about the Rhine title image
The Rhine Falls, Schaffhouse, Switzerland

space-filler
The Rhine in Basel, Wettstein bridge space-filler

FAQ about the Rhine



* Q:  Ashaffenburg on the Rhine Germany ?
* Q:  How long is the Rhine river ?
* Q:  What famous cathedral city is on the Rhine ?
* Q:  What fish live in the river Rhine ?
* Q:  Where does the rhine river empty ?
* Q:  Where are the rhine falls located ?
* Q:  Where is the Rhine river ?
* Q:  Where is the Rhine river on a map ?
* Q:  Which direction does the Rhine river flow ?
* Q:  What about the Rhine pollution ?
* Q:  How much freight is forwarded over the Rhine ?
* Q:  In which Rhine city was the printing invented ?


* Q:  Ashaffenburg on the rhine germany ?  --> No
 A:  An often seen question, but I can't tell why... For some unknown reasons, Aschaffenburg is sometimes believed to be situated on the Rhine river. Indeed it is located eastwards of the Rhine. It is some 60 km away from the Rhine river. Aschaffenburg is situated on the the river Main like Frankfurt. The river Main is a tributary of the Rhine.


* Q:  How long is the rhine river ?  --> 1237 km
 A:  In short the length of the Rhine is between 1225 km and 1243 km, and up to 1295 km, if one considers the Ijssel branch. Indeed, it depends on which source one considers and which branch of the Rhine Delta one considers. The length of the Rhine is often said to be 1320 km, but this does result from an inversion of the 2 and the 3 in the number 1230 km, which is a kind of a compromise between 1225 km and 1243 km. Even at the Toma lake, which is the "official" source of the Rhine, there is a signboard mentionning the erroneous value of 1320 km.

For a detailed table of the various length values, depending on the source and Delta branch, see our page Length of the Rhine.

Today the course of the Rhine starts in the Swiss Alps. It was not always this way. 23 millions years ago, the Rhine river's basin did start in the Eifel and Westerwald hills, some 450 km north of the Alps. The Moselle (Mosel) was not yet a tributary of the Rhine.

5 millions years ago, the Rhine's basin did start in the Vosges mountains and the Moselle, the Main and the Neckar were then its tributaries.

1.8 millions years ago, the Rhine's basin had finally been extended to the Alps and the Rhine river had also the Aar (Aare) as a tributary.


* Q:  What famous cathedral city is on the rhine ?  --> Basel, Strasbourg, Mayence, Cologne
 A:  The Cathedral of Cologne is a famous Cathedral on the Rhine, but it is not the only one. Mayence (Mainz) has a Cathedral. The Cathedral of Strabourg is very well known too, for its single belltower and its asymetrical look. Basel is also a Rhine city with a Cathedral.


* Q:  What fish live in the river Rhine ?  --> Salmons
 A:  Many years ago, in the XVIIIth century, there were a lot of salmons living in the river Rhine. They were so numerous that the workers building the canal Vauban under the King Louis XIV did complain because of having to eat salmon each and every day.

The numerous hydroelectric power plants and sluices made it difficult if not impossible for the salmons to swim upstreams to the place they were born.

In the second half of the XXth century, the salmons of the Rhine river had disappeared. Recently, salmons of the Atlantic have been re-introduced and the largest fishways of Europe have been built at the power plants of Iffezheim and Gambsheim to allow the salmons to swim upstream.


* Q:  Wher does the rhine river empty ?  --> Hoek van Holland
 A:  The Rhine river empties into the North Sea at Hoek van Holland. But since the Rhine forms a large delta, it empties into the Sea at many other places, north and south from Hoek van Holland. E.g at Katwijk aan Zee, at Willemstad, mixed with the Maas and even into the Ijsselmeer.


* Q:  Where are the rhine falls located ?  --> Schaffhouse
 A:  The Rhine falls are located at Schaffhouse in Switzerland on the segment of the Rhine between the lake of Constance and the Swiss city Basel. Have a look at our page about the Rhine falls.


* Q:  Where is the Rhine river ?  --> Europe
 A:  The Rhine river is in Europe. It flows through or touches 6 countries. In order from the source in the Swiss Alps to the North Sea, these are Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands.


* Q:  Where is the Rhine river on a map ?  --> go to map
 A:  The Rhine river starts in Switzerland, then it makes the border between France and Germany, later it flows through a large part of Germany and finally it flows through a part of the Netherlands into the North Sea. To see the Rhine river on a map, just go to the main page of this website for a small map or to the map page for a big map.


* Q:  Which direction does the Rhine river flow ?  --> North
 A:  The Rhine flows essentially towards the north, but this a not a constant direction all over its course. At first, from its source in the Swiss Alps, the Rhine flows towards the northeast for some 100 km. Then full towards the north for another 100 km. From its entry into the lake of Constance (Bodensee) until Basel, the Rhine flows towards the west for some 200 km.

At Basel, the Rhine changes its direction again to the north for some 350 km until Mayence (Mainz). After Mayence, the Rhine flows towards north-north-west until it enters the Netherlands near Nijmegen and Arnhem. On the last segment from the Dutch border until the North Sea, the Rhine flows towards the west.


* Q:  What about the Rhine pollution ?  --> improving
 A:  A few decades ago, the Rhine was one of the most polluted rivers of Europe. It was called the rubbish dump of Europe. The worst pollution of the Rhine has occured in 1986 when an accident of the chemical industry has happened at Schweizerhalle upstreams of Basel in Switzerland. The remaining fishes of the Rhine did die out.

After that event a lot of actions have been taken. Nowadays it is said that the Rhine is the cleanest river of Europe. Indeed it is clean from a physico-chemical point of view, but it seems that it is not yet clean from a bacteriological point of view. A few people do take a swim in the Rhine but they are not an overwhelming majority.


* Q:  How much freight is forwarded over the Rhine ?  --> 300 000 000 t
 A:  300 million tons of goods are transported every year by canal-boats on the Rhine river (1 ton = 1000 kg).


* Q:  In which Rhine city was the printing invented ?  --> Mayence
 A:  The printing or more accuratly the printed book has been invented by Gutenberg at Mayence (German : Mainz) in 1455.









Page best viewed with any browser.
Copyright © 2007-2024 riverama.com, All rights reserved.
. .