RHINE. 



RHINE. 



290 



Basel to Mainz, a distance of nearly 200 miles. At Mainz the surface 

 of the river is only 274 feet above the sea. Between Basel and 

 Strasbourg, a distance of only about 80 miles, the fall of the river is 

 not less than 347 feet, or 4 J feet per mile. Accordingly the current is 

 very rapid, and in addition to this the wide bed of the river contains 

 numerous sand-banks and small islands, which are subject to sudden 

 and frequent changes in their form and position, so that navigation in 

 this part of the Rhine is dangerous and therefore limited. Between 

 Kehl opposite Strasbourg, and Qermersheim, which places are about 

 50 miles distant from one another, the islands increase in size, and 

 are less subject to change. Few islands occur north of Germersheim, 

 and the river flows slowly, making large bends. The largest kind of 

 barges used between Strasbourg and Mainz are of 100 tons burden, 

 but in ascending they must be drawn up, which is chiefly done by 

 horses. 



Between Mainz and Bonn the Rhine runs between two mountain 

 regions in a narrow valley. This valley, which contains some of the 

 most picturesque scenery on the continent of Europe, is in tome parts 

 so narrow, that there is hardly level space enough for a road between 

 the mountains and the banks of the river. The hills along the banks 

 of the stream contain extensive vineyards, the produce of which is 

 known all over Europe under the name of Rhenish wines. At Bingin 

 a ledge of rocks crosses the river, and though the Prussian govern- 

 ment has somewhat lessened the danger by blasting some of the rocks, 

 neither bargee nor steam-boats can pass by night or in foggy weather. 

 Near Bacharach, farther down, there is a group of rocks, and opposite 

 St. Qoar another ledge. At Cologne the river is only 110 feet above 

 the sea-level. The ascent by barge* is very tedious. 



Numerous tributaries join the Rhine in its middle course. Those 

 which flow into it from the west have a short course, and are not 

 navigable, with the exception of the Motclle, which rises on the western 

 slope* of the Vosgee, and runs first north-west, and then north, but 

 the greater part of its course is to the north-east After a course of 

 820 miles, it joins the Rhine at Coblenz. [MOBELLE.] The lower 

 part of its course lies in a deep valley of moderate width, inclosed by 

 hills and mountains, the slopes of which are covered with extensive 

 vineyards, which produce the Hoielle wine. 



The number of navigable rivers which join the Rhino in iN middle 

 course from the right is much greater. The most southern is the 

 .\VvJ-ar, which rise* near 48 N. 1st., in the mountainous tracts by 

 which the range called the Kauhe Alp is connected with the Black 

 Forest, and after a course of about 170 miles falls into the Rhine at 

 Mannheim. [NicitAR KBKIS.] 



The most important of the affluents of the Middle Rhine is the 

 Main or Mayn, which falls into it opposite Mainz. Its .sources are in 

 the Fichtelgebirge, not fsr from the boundary of Bohemia, where it 

 originate* in two bnnchrs, of which the northern is called the White 

 and tlie southern the Red Main. The two branches unite about 

 two mile* and a half below Kulmbach, and begin to change their 

 western course into a southern. Not for from Bamberg the river is 

 joined by it* only navigable affluent, the Rednitz : it then flows west 

 by north to Schweinfurt, whence it again runs south to Markbreit, 

 and from that place to the north-north-west to Oemunden. From 

 Oemunden it again flows southward, and making a wide sweep, 

 encircle* the mountain region of the Speenrt At Hanau it turns 

 westward, and passing near Frankfort in that direction, joins the 

 Rhine. Though it* source* are only about ISO miles from it* mouth, 

 the whole course exceed* 360 mile*, owing to the numerous large 

 brads. River barges ascend above the mouth of the Rednitc, more 

 than 250 miles from it* month ; and from Kitzingen downwards, it is 

 navigated by vessels of 100 tons burden. The whole course lies 

 through a hilly but rather fertile and well-cultivated country. As no 

 high hills intervene between the Main and the Danube, a canal, origi- 

 nally projected by Charlemagne, wa* cut by the ex-king Ludwig of 

 Bavaria from Forchbeim along the banks of the Rednitc and those 

 of the Altmiihl, a feeder of the Danube. This canal establishes a water 

 communication between the North Sea and the Black Sea. 



Farther north the Rhine in joined by the Lahn, which fall* into it 

 a little above the mouth of the Moselle at Niederlahnstein : it flow* 

 about 140 miles, and is navigable for moderate-sized river boat* to 

 Diez, about 20 mile* from it* month. It traverse* a very hilly 

 country. The river Sieg, which falls into the Rhine below Bonn, 

 flows about 70 miles, and is navigable to Siegburg, which is about 

 eight miles from it* mouth. [ARMBERG.] 



Lower Mint. From Cologne to its mouths, a distance of about 

 800 mile*, the course of the Rhine is through a low level country, 

 though the western declivity of the hill* of the Sauerlnnd are near 

 Ha eastern bank, between Cologne and Dusseldorf. The current is 

 extremely gentle, as the whole fall doe* not amount to much more 

 than four inches per mile, the surface at Cologne being, as already 

 observed, only 110 feet above the sea-level. From this town down- 

 wards the Rhine is navigated by sea-going shins, many of which are 

 built in the hip-yard* of Cologne. [(JoLoosE-J 



About 200 mile* from its mouth, and soon after it has entered 

 Holland, the Rhine begins to divide into several arras ; but before 

 this division, the water* are increased by three navigable riven, on 

 the left bank by the Erft, which has a course of about 60 miles, and 

 on the right bank by the Ruhr, whose course is above 100 miles, 



liEOO. BIT. YOU IV. 



about one-half of which has been made navigable for barges by the 

 construction of several locks, and the Lippe, which is somewhat 

 more than 100 miles long, and is navigated from Lippstadt by small 

 river-boats, and from Liinen by large ones. 



Near the village of Pannerden, which ia within the territories of 

 Holland, the Rhine divides into two arms, of which the southern is 

 called the Waal, and the northern preserves the name of Rhine. 

 Nearly two-thirds of the volume of water run into the Waal, which 

 is more than 210 yards wide, while the Rhine is only 114 yards wide. 

 The Waal runs westward, and the Rhine north-north-west. The 

 Rhine divides again about 12 miles lower down, above Arnheira, into 

 the Yssel, which runs to the north, and the Rhine, which turns off to 

 the west. The Yssel was originally a canal, cut by Drusus, to unite 

 the Rhine with the river which is now called Oude (Old) Yssel. It 

 falls into the Zuider-Zee, The Rhine running westward divides for 

 the third time about 30 miles lower down, at Wyck. The southern 

 arm is called the Leek, and the northern goes by the name of 

 Kromme-Rhyn (Crooked Rhine) : the Leek is the larger river. The 

 Crooked Rhine runs north-west to Utrecht, where it divides for the 

 fourth and last time. The arm which runs northward is called the 

 Vecht, and falls into the Zuider-Zee; the other, whose name is 

 changed into that of Oude-Ryn (Old Rhine), continues westward 

 through the marshes of Holland, where the waters are used for 

 feeding numerous small canals. It passes through Leyden, and 

 formerly did not reach the sea, being prevented by some sandy dunes 

 which line the shores of this part of Holland ; but in 1807 a canal 

 was made through them, and the river now discharges a small 

 quantity of water into the sea at Katwyck, north-west of Leyden. 

 [HOLLAND.] 



The Leek, or middle branch of the Rhine, was originally also a canal, 

 made by the Roman general Corbu'.o ; and it existed as such to A.D. 

 839, when the bed was greatly enlarged by an inundation, and thus 

 it became the principal river, and the true Rhine was reduced to 

 insignificance. It runs from Wyck by Duurstede westward for about 

 50 miles, and enters an arm of the Mi-use that runs along the north 

 shore of the island of Ysselmonde. [MaTSE.] The Waal runs about 

 80 miles from Pannerden to Oorkum, where it flows into the Maas. 

 A branch of the Meuse, called the West Kil, leaves the main stream 

 a few mile* below its junction with the Waal. After flowing through 

 the Bies-Boech [HOLLAND] it runs west, and takes the name of 

 Hollands-Diep, which divide* into two, the arms that inclose the island 

 of Over-Klackee. [Miust] The whole country between the arms of 

 the Rhine is intersected by numerous canals, most of which serve for 

 the purpose of internal navigation, though only for small boats. The 

 whole course of the Rhine amounts to about 870 miles, of which 

 about 570 miles, from Basel to its mouths, are navigable. 



The delta of the Rhine is bounded on the east by tho Yssel, on the 

 south by the Waal and the Maas, and on the other sides by the North 

 Sea and the Zuider-Zee : it comprehends the whole of the three Dutch 

 province* of North and South Holland and Utrecht, and nearly two- 

 third* of Gneldrrl*nd. The whole extent of the low country near the 

 mouths of the Rhine is nearly 5000 square miles. All this country 

 would occasionally bo covered with the inundations of the river, or by 

 the sea, if it were not protected by embankment*. The river embank- 

 ment* begin at Wesel, in the Prussian province of Dusseldorf, and 

 extend on both sides of th different arms of the Rhine to the sea. 

 These embankment* are generally from 25 to 30 feet above the lowest 

 level of the river. In the basin of the Rhine the winter usually lasts 

 from six weeks to two months, during which time the river is covered 

 with ice, and the snow accumulates in the adjacent countries. If the 

 snow has fallen in greater quantities than usual, and is suddenly 

 dissolved by warm rains, the river in a short time swells to an extra- 

 ordinary height, and lays the contiguous lowlands under water. No 

 part of these lowlands is more subject to such inundations than the 

 Betnwe, or that tract which extends between the Rhine and Leek on 

 the north and the Waal on the south. When such inundations take 

 place they are always attended with great Iocs of property, and some- 

 time* of life. The basin of the Rhine is estimated at about 80,000 

 square miles, of which about 13,000 mile* are assigned to the upper, 

 40,000 miles to the middle, and 27,000 mile* to the lower basin of 

 the Rhine. 



Ancient writers differ respecting the number of mouths by which 

 the Rhine falls into the ocean. C'sosar says that there are several, but 

 Virgil ('^En.,' viii. 727), Asinins (Strab., iv. p. 183), and Tacitus 

 (' Ann.,' ii. 6) speak only of two ; of which, according to Tacitus, the 

 western is called Vahalis till its union with the Mosa, when it takes 

 the name of the latter river, while the eastern, which forms the 

 boundary between Gaul and Germany, preserves the name of Rhine. 

 Pliny (' Hist. Nat,' iv. 29), Ptolemaus (ii. 9), and other writers say 

 that the Rhine fall* into the sea by three mouths, of which the eastern, 

 according to Pliny, was called Flevuni, and the western, formed by 

 the union with the Mosa, Helium ; while the middle one, which was 

 only a stream of moderate size, retained the name of Rhine. The 

 channel called Flevuni is supposed to have been formed by the canul 

 which Drusus dug to connect the Rhine with the Isala (Yssel), and by 

 means of which he and Germanicus sailed to the ocean. (Suet, 

 ' Claud.,' c. i. ; Tac., 'Ann.,' ii. 8.) The Isala, increased by the waters of 

 the Rhine, flowed northward into a great lake called Flevo, on issuing 



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