The Alf is a small river in
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, a left tributary of the
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
. It rises in the
Eifel
The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...
, near
Darscheid
Darscheid is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Daun, whose seat ...
, east of
Daun
Daun is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the district seat and also the seat of the ' of Daun.
Geography
Location
The town lies in the , a part of the Eifel known for its volcanic history, geogra ...
. The Alf flows south through
Mehren,
Gillenfeld
Gillenfeld is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Daun, whose se ...
and
Bausendorf, where it turns east to flow into the Moselle at the village of
Alf.
Geography
Course
The Alf rises about northeast of
Hörscheid in the
Volcanic Eifel
The Volcanic Eifel or Vulkan Eifel (german: Vulkaneifel) is a region in the Eifel Mountains in Germany that is defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history. Characteristic of this volcanic field are its typical explosion crater l ...
. From its source at a height of , the Alf initially flows in a southerly direction to the village of
Darscheid
Darscheid is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Daun, whose seat ...
, from which it flows to the east through the villages of
Gillenfeld
Gillenfeld is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Daun, whose se ...
and
Strohn. The next section of the Alf, to
Bausendorf, is very winding; it then turns towards the east and cuts through the south of the forest of
Kondelwald
The Kondelwald, also known as the Kondel, is a forest, about 2,500 hectares in area and up to , that forms part of the Moselle Eifel. It lies within the counties of Bernkastel-Wittlich and Cochem-Zell in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. ...
, passing the villages of
Kinderbeuern
Kinderbeuern (also known locally as ''Kinderbeuern-Hetzhof'') is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany ...
and
Bengel. Around beyond Bengel it changes course abruptly and swings north. A ridge prevents it from flowing further east unto the
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
, here just away. After breaking through the
Moselle Hills
The Moselle Hills (german: Moselberge) form a ridge, up to , on the left bank of the river Moselle between Reil, Germany, Reil and Schweich in the Rhineland-Palatinate counties of Landkreis Bernkastel-Wittlich, Bernkastel-Wittlich and Landkreis Tr ...
the Alf finally reaches the Moselle at
Alf (
Cochem-Zell
Cochem-Zell (German: ''Landkreis Cochem-Zell'') is a district (''Kreis'') in the north-west of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Mayen-Koblenz, Rhein-Hunsrück, Bernkastel-Wittlich, and Vulkaneifel.
History
In 1816 the di ...
) at a height of . Along its course from source to mouth, the Alf descends through , giving it an average river bed gradient of 8.6‰.
Tributaries
References
Rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate
Rivers of the Eifel
Rivers of Germany
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