Rhine River in Western Europe

The Rhine is one of the major European rivers. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Constance downstream, it forms part of the Swiss-German border. After that the Rhine defines much of the Franco-German bord…
The Rhine is one of the major European rivers. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Constance downstream, it forms part of the Swiss-German border. After that the Rhine defines much of the Franco-German border. It then flows in a mostly northerly direction through the German Rhineland. Finally in Germany, the Rhine turns into a predominantly westerly direction and flows into the Netherlands where it eventually empties into the North Sea. It drains an area of 9,973 km².
  • Etymology: Celtic Rēnos
  • Countries: Switzerland · Liechtenstein · Austria · Germany · France · Netherlands
  • Rhine Basin: Switzerland · Liechtenstein · Vorarlberg · Southern and Western Germany · Alsace, France · Luxembourg · Belgium · Netherlands · Val di Lei, Italy
  • Region: Central and Western Europe
  • Largest cities: Cologne · Rotterdam · Düsseldorf · Duisburg · Strasbourg · Arnhem · Basel
  • Source: Vorderrhein (Sursilvan: Rein Anteriur)
  • 2nd source: Hinterrhein (Sursilvan: Rein Posteriur)

Nearby

Data from: en.wikipedia.org