The Bocq is a river in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, a right-bank tributary of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

. The full length of the Bocq lies in the province of Namur.

Geography

The Bocq originates in Scy,

Condroz The Condroz () is a natural region in Wallonia (the French-speaking part of Belgium), located to the north-west of the Ardennes. Its unofficial capital is Ciney. The region preserves the name of the Condrusi, a Germanic tribe which inhabited t ...

, at an altitude of . On its way it passes through the villages of Mohiville, Achet,

Hamois Hamois (; wa, Hamwè) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. The village is around south-east of the city of Namur. On 1 January 2020 the municipality had 7,375 inhabitants. The total area is 76.42 km2 ...

, Emptinne, Sovet, Braibant and Spontin. From this village, the valley gets woodier. In Bauche, it receives the waters of its main tributary, the Crupet. After , the Bocq empties into the right bank of the

Yvoir Yvoir (; wa, Uwar) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 8,450 inhabitants. The total area is 56.84 km2, making it a population density of 149 inhabitants per km2. T ...

, at an altitude of . Its average slope is 0.48% and the surface area of its basin is .

Communes crossed by the Bocq

(from Scy to Emptinne and near Natoye). *

Ciney Ciney (; wa, Cînè) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. As of 2018, Ciney had a total population of 16,439. The total area is 147.56 km² which gives a population density of 111 inhabitants per k ...

(near Braibant). *

(from Spontin to the center of Yvoir where it flows into the Meuse).

Tributaries

* The Crupet (right bank) * The Leignon (left bank) * The Petit Bocq (right bank) * The Potriat (left bank)

Economy

* 2 stone quarries are still in use between Spontin and Yvoir. There were several dozen of them, which is why the railway line was built. * On the banks of its lower part, the Bocq had several mills used to grind grain or, in the hamlet of Chansin, to generate the electricity needed to crush limestone. * On the territories of Spontin, Dorinne and Crupet, the water of a few sources in the Bocq valley is collected by Vivaqua, the former Compagnie Intercommunale Bruxelloise des Eaux (CIBE) at a rate of to per day. It supplies about 15% of the Brussels drinking water distribution network. * In Spontin, the water of three sources had been collected by the Spadel company since 1922 and bottled on site. It was also used for lemonade production. In August 2011 Mecca Cola developed a plan to exploit the Spontin sources, but abandoned it in 2012. * The Bocq gave its name to the Brasserie du Bocq in Purnode. * Railway line 128 follows the Bocq from Braibant to Yvoir and is operated as a tourist line by the Chemin de fer du Bocq.

Flow

The discharge of the river measured at

( basin) between 1980 and 2003 was per second. Measurements during the same period show: * An average of per second in 1981, the maximum average annual flow over the period. * A minimum average annual flow of per second in 1996.Ministère de la région wallonne
- Etat des lieux du sous-bassin de la Haute Meuse
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References

{{Reflist Ciney Yvoir Rivers of Namur (province)