List of rivers discharging into the North Sea

Main affluents

The main affluents of North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat
Name Mean
Discharge		 Length Basin States Course
Rhine 2900 m³/s
(R-M-delta)
2300 m³/s   (proper)  		 1238.8 km (with Hinterrhein)
1240 km (with Vorderrhein)		 197,100 km2 (76,100 sq mi)
(with Meuse)[1]		 Switzerland (sources), Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France, Netherlands,
Luxembourg (Moselle), Italy (Reno di Lei)		 smallest flow: Dischmabach → Landwasser → Albula → Hinterrhein (sum = 72 km) → Rhine
longest course: Rein da Medel → Vorderrhein (sum = 74 km)→ Rhine
Elbe   870 m³/s 1094 km (nominally)
1245 km (hydrologically)		 148,268 km2 (57,247 sq mi)[1] the Czech Republic (sources), Germany, Austria (Lainsitz), Poland (Dzika Orlica and smaller affluents) longer and larger tributary Vltava
Glomma   698 m³/s   601 km   41,917 km2 (16,184 sq mi) Norway, Sweden (affluents) Glomma → lake Aursunden → Glomma → Skagerrak
Göta älv   575 m³/s     93 km (nominally)
  720 km (hydrologically)		   50,229.3 km2 (19,393.6 sq mi) Sweden, Norway (Trysilelva) Rogen → lake Femund → Trysilelva → Klarälven → lake Vänern → Göta älv → Kattegat[2]
IJssel     380 m³/s
(75% from Rhine)[3]		   125 km (nominally)
  188 km (with Oude IJssel)		   4,533 km2 (1,750 sq mi) Netherlands, Germany (source Oude IJssel) Oude IJssel → IJssel → Ketelmeer → IJsselmeer → Wadden Sea
Meuse   357 m³/s   874 km   33,000 km2 (13,000 sq mi)[1] France (source), Belgium, Netherlands,
Luxembourg (Chiers), Germany (Rur, S(ch)walm, Niers)		 sharing mouths of the Rhine
Weser   327 m³/s   451.4 km (nominally)
  751 km (with Werra)		   41,094 km2 (15,866 sq mi)[4] Germany formed by confluence of Werra (longer) and Fulda (larger)
Drammenselva   314 m³/s     48 km (nominally)
  301 km (system)		   17,110 km2 (6,610 sq mi) Norway … → Slidrefjorden → Strondafjorden → Aurdalsfjorden → Begna → Sperillen → Ådalselva → Randselva → Storelva
→ Tyrifjorden → Drammenselva → Oslofjord
Humber
(estuary)		   250 m³/s
(without tide flows)		     62 km (nominally)
  359 km (with Trent)		   24,240 km2 (9,360 sq mi)[5] England common estuary of Trent and Ouse (see below)
Tay   170 m³/s   193 km   6,216 km2 (2,400 sq mi)[6] Scotland River Tay → Firth of Tay (estuary, included in the figures)
Otra   150 m³/s   245 km   3,740 km2 (1,440 sq mi) Norway → Skagerrak
Sira   130 m³/s   152 km   1,902 km2 (734 sq mi) Norway
Scheldt   127 m³/s   360 km   21,863 km2 (8,441 sq mi)[1] France (source), Belgium, Netherlands (estuary)
River Forth   112 m³/s     47 km (nominally)
    55 km (hydrologically)		   1,029 km2 (397 sq mi)[7][8] Scotland → Firth of Forth
Numedalslågen   111 m³/s   352 km   5,554 km2 (2,144 sq mi) Norway → Skagerrak
Trent     99 m³/s   297 km   10,452 km2 (4,036 sq mi) England → Humber (see above)
Tweed     85 m³/s   156 km   1,080 km2 (420 sq mi)[9] Scotland (source), England
Lagan     82 m³/s   244 km   6,451.8 km2 (2,491.1 sq mi) Sweden → Kattegat[2]
Ems     80.5 m³/s   371 km   13,160 km2 (5,080 sq mi)[1] Germany, Netherlands (estuary)
Thames     65.8 m³/s   346 km   12,935 km2 (4,994 sq mi)[10] England
Spey     64 m³/s   173 km   3,008 km2 (1,161 sq mi)[11] Scotland → Moray Firth
Ätran     52.5 m³/s   243 km   3,342.2 km2 (1,290.4 sq mi) Sweden → Kattegat[2]
Zwarte Water     50 m³/s   19 km (nominally)
  201 km (with Vecht)		   5,741 km2 (2,217 sq mi) Germany (source), Netherlands Vecht/Vechte → Zwarte Water → Zwarte Meer → IJsselmeer → Wadden Sea
River Tyne     44.6 m³/s   321.4 km   2,200 km2 (850 sq mi)[4] England
Yorkshire Ouse     44 m³/s   208 km (with Ure)   3,315 km2 (1,280 sq mi) England Ure → Ouse → Humber (see above)
Nissan     41 m³/s   200 km   2,686 km2 (1,037 sq mi) Sweden → Kattegat
Skjern Å     36.6 m³/s     94 km   2,100 km2 (810 sq mi)[12] Denmark → Ringkøbing Fjord (lagoon)
Great Ouse     35 m³/s   270 km   8,530 km2 (3,290 sq mi) England → The Wash
Gudenå  32.4 m³/s[13]     149 km  2,643 km2 (1,020 sq mi)[12] Denmark → Kattegat[2]

Long list

Austrian drainage basin

Belgian drainage basin

Danish drainage basins

English drainage basins

Flowing into the North Sea – Thames and Medway

From Foreness Point to Shoeburyness

Flowing into the North Sea – North of the Thames Estuary

Aerial view of the Thames in London
The mouth of the Gaywood River at King's Lynn.
The Mouth of the River Burn at Overy Creek, Norfolk

From Shoeburyness to St Abb's Head

River Hundred (Benacre, Kessingland

French drainage basin

The Aa

The Aa is an 89 km long river in northern France. Its source is near the village Bourthes. It flows through the départements and cities of Pas-de-Calais: Saint-Omer and Nord: Gravelines.

German drainage basin

The major German rivers

The three main rivers in Germany are the Rhine (German: Rhein) (main tributaries including the Neckar, the Main and the Moselle (Mosel)); the Elbe (also drains into the North Sea); and, the Danube (Donau).

German rivers draining into the North Sea

The rivers in this section are sorted south-west (Netherlands) to east (Danish border).

The Elbe at Dresden

Netherlands drainage basin

The Rhine at the Loreley
Limmat in Zürich
Hotton, view on the Ourthe and the city church.
The Scheldt in Antwerp

Norwegian drainage basin

Scotland drainage basin

Swedish drainage basin

Switzerland drainage basin

The Rhine, together with its tributaries the Aare and the Thur drain about two thirds of the water into the North Sea.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e McAlister, Elaine; Nelleke Domburg; Tony Edwards; Bob Ferrier. "Hydrological Modelling of the River Ythan using ArcInfo GRID". Macaulay Land Use Research Institute. Archived from the original on 2008-07-26. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  2. ^ a b c d Leibniz-Institut für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde: Gehört das Kattegatt noch zur Ostsee (Is the Kattegat a part of the Baltic Sea?) → By physical criteria, the border between North Sea and Baltic sea is in the Øresund at Drodgen Sill and in the Great Belt near Langeland
  3. ^ Hydrological trends IJsselmeer (in Dutch)
  4. ^ a b Milliman, John D.; Syvitski, James P. M. "Geomorphic/Tectonic Control of Sediment Discharge to the Ocean: The Importance of Small Mountainous Rivers". Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  5. ^ Appleton, Tamsin (24 November 2008). "Environment Agency – More about Humber RBD" (cached). Subjects > Water Quality > WFD > RBD information > Humber RBD > More about Humber RBD. The Environment Agency. Retrieved 2008-12-04.[dead link]
  6. ^ Hopkin, John; Duffy, Philip; Blades, Heather (2002). "What causes the River Tay in Scotland to flood?" (Digitized by Google Books online). Geography Matters Scotland. Heinemann. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-435-35543-2. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
  7. ^ http://www.sepa,org.uk/system_pages/search.aspx?q=Forth [dead link]
  8. ^ "Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS)" (PDF). Ramsar Information Sheet: UK13017 Firth of Forth. JNCC: Version 3.0. 13 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-04.The catchment area of both the River Forth and Firth of Forth Estuary.
  9. ^ "Where is the River Tweed - Ask.com". Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  10. ^ Ojo, Michael; Fuller, Terence W. (12 July 2007). "London Councils' TEC Executive Sub-Committee Water Framework Directive" (doc). Babtie Group. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  11. ^ Riddell, Keith J.; Fuller, Terence W. (1995). "The Spey Bay geomorphological study". Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 20 (7). Babtie Group: 671–686. Bibcode:1995ESPL...20..671R. doi:10.1002/esp.3290200709.
  12. ^ a b Miljø og Energiministeriet: Afstrømningsforhold i danske vandløb (2000), p. 16
  13. ^ A bit lesser than Skjern Å
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_rivers_discharging_into_the_North_Sea&oldid=1205665363"