RIVERS OF EUROPE
European rivers flow in part to the Atlantic and its Mediterranean branches, partly to the Arctic Sea, and partly to the Caspian, which last belongs to the “continental” system of drainage, or the area from which no rivers escape to the open ocean.
The Volga, the largest European river, is the principal feeder of the Caspian, and the great highway of commerce of Central and South Russia.
The Don, Dnieper, Dniester, and Danube all flow into the Black Sea. The last-named is the second of European rivers, and forms, with its navigable tributaries, the route for traffic between Central Europe and the East.
The Po, the Rhone (the most rapid European river, though of little value for navigation), and the Ebro flow into the Mediterranean.
The chief rivers (all of immense importance) draining into the Atlantic, are: the Tagus (with its port of Lisbon), the Douro (Oporto), the Gironde (Bordeaux), the Loire (Nantes), and the Mersey (Liverpool); while of less importance are the Guadalquivir, Guadiana, Tagus, and Douro in Spain; the Garonne, Loire, and Seine in France. Into the North Sea flow the Thames (London), the Meuse (Rotterdam), the Rhine and the Elbe, giving uninterrupted water-way to Switzerland and into the heart of Bohemia; and into the Baltic, the rivers Oder, Vistula, Niemen, and Dwina, more or less important for purposes of transport.
On account of the great historic, political and scenic importance that attaches to the Rhine and the Danube, in addition to the fact that their courses are not confined strictly to any one country, these rivers call for more detailed descriptions. The other European rivers of importance are described in connection with the country to which they either wholly or in great part belong.
THE RHINE
THE RHINE (Ger. Rhein), is probably the most famous river in the world, and, except the period between 1697 and 1871, always a purely German possession. It is usually divided into the upper, middle, and lower parts, the first lying within and along part of the boundary line of Switzerland, the second between Basel and Cologne, and the third between Cologne and the sea.
THE UPPER RHINE AND
ITS SOURCE