, french: la Gueule , image = Geul river valley in Plombières, Belgium 100 0278.jpg , image_caption = The Geul valley in

Plombières Plombières (; german: Bleyberg or ''Bleiberg'', nl, Blieberg; wa, So-on-Mont-d'-Plomb) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2006, Plombières had a total population of 10,401. The total are ...

, Belgium , source1_location = near Lichtenbusch , mouth_location =

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 ...

near Bunde , mouth_coordinates = , progression = , subdivision_type1 = Country , subdivision_name1 =

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 the ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...

, length = , source1_elevation = ± , discharge1_avg = , basin_size = , map = Kaart met plateaus en dalen Zuid-Limburg.PNG , map_size = , map_caption = The Geul (Ge) in

South Limburg South Limburg (Dutch: ''Zuid-Limburg'', Limburgish: ''Zuud-Limburg'') is both a COROP (statistical) region as well as a '' landstreek'' (area) of the Netherlands located in the province of Limburg. The Dutch term ''landstreek'', literally transla ...

, with tributaries Eyserbeek (E), Gulp (Gu) and Selzerbeek (Se). The Geul (, ; german: Göhl ; french: la Gueule) is a river in

and in the

, where it is a right-bank tributary to the river

Geography

The source of the Geul is at about above sea level in northeastern Belgium near the German border, south of the German town of

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...

. From there, after flowing some in a northwestern direction, it leaves Belgium and enters the Netherlands at Cotessen in the

Vaals Vaals (; Ripuarian: ) is a town in the extreme southeastern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, which is in the southeastern part of the Netherlands. The municipality covers an area of in the foothills of the Ardennes–Eifelrange ...

municipality. After a further in a west-northwestern direction through the most southern part of Limburg, which in its turn is the most southern province of the Netherlands, it flows into the Meuse, north of the city of

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of th ...

. A tributary of the Geul is the Gulp. Places through which the Geul passes are among others Kelmis (Belgium),

Valkenburg aan de Geul Valkenburg aan de Geul (; li, Valkeberg ) is a municipality situated in the southeastern Dutch province of Limburg. The name refers to the central town in the municipality, Valkenburg, and the small river Geul. History Sieges and conquests hav ...

and

Meerssen Meerssen (; li, Meersje ) is a town and a municipality in southeastern Netherlands. History The Treaty of Meerssen was signed in Meerssen in 870. The Treaty of Meerssen was an agreement of the division of the Carolingian Empire by the surviving ...

(Netherlands).

Pollution

The water of the Geul is polluted seriously with heavy metals

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic t ...

and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, l ...

and as a result also is a serious source of heavy metal inflow into the Meuse. This pollution is a result of former zinc and lead mining activities near the Belgian towns of Kelmis (La Calamine) and

(formerly named Bleiberg). The last one of these mines have closed early in the 20th century. One of the reasons for giving up mining activities in Plombières was the occasional flooding of the mine by the Geul, as the bedrock (mainly

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonif ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

) contains many faults and fissures. Although mine factory buildings have been demolished, old railway dikes still are abundantly present in the area. They provide ideal hiking routes, that are known for the presence of so-called "zinc flora" (zinc-tolerant plants, such as yellow calamine violet and '' Viola calaminaria'').

Significant events

During the

2021 European floods In July 2021, several European countries were affected by severe floods. Some were catastrophic, causing deaths and widespread damage. The floods started in the United Kingdom as flash floods causing some property damage and inconvenience. L ...

, the banks of the river flooded, including in some of the major population centers such as

.De beelden van de wateroverlast in Zuid-Limburg
/ref>

Gallery

File:Kelmis Tueljebach - Geul.jpg, At Kelmis Tueljebach File:Schin op Geul-Geul-Schoonbron-1.JPG, At Schin op Geul File:Geul bij Strabeek Limburg.jpg, At Strabeek File:Geul voulwammes.jpg, Estuary at Voulwammes

References

{{Authority control International rivers of Europe Rivers of the Ardennes (Belgium) Rivers of Belgium Rivers of the Netherlands Rivers of Liège Province Rivers of South Limburg (Netherlands) Gulpen-Wittem Kelmis Meerssen Plombières Raeren Valkenburg aan de Geul