The river Jeetzel, which begins in the

Altmark :''See German tanker Altmark for the ship named after Altmark and Stary Targ for the Polish village named Altmark in German.'' The (English: Old MarchHansard, ''The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time ...'', Volume 32. 1 F ...

under the name Jeetze,Hans-Joachim Uhlemann and Martin Eckoldt, ''Kleine Nebenflüsse der Elbe oberhalb des Tidegebietes'', published in Hans-Georg Braun's 1988 ''Flüsse und Kanäle''. flows from

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

through

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

, in

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 ...

. From its source near the village of

Dönitz Dönitz is a village and a former municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous c ...

, it flows north through

Beetzendorf Beetzendorf is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It consists of the following ''Ortsteile'' or municipal divisions:Salzwedel Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; Low German: ''Soltwedel'') is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwe ...

, Wustrow,

Lüchow Lüchow (Wendland) () is a city in northeastern Lower Saxony, in Germany. It is the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Lüchow (Wendland), and is the capital of the district Lüchow-Dannenberg. Situated approximately 13&nbs ...

and Dannenberg, before joining the Elbe in

Hitzacker Hitzacker is a town in the Lüchow-Dannenberg district of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Elbe, approx. 8 km north of Dannenberg, and 45 km east of Lüneburg. The 2007 population of Hitzacker was 4,982, and its posta ...

. Its total length is . A

left tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

, the Jeetzel has itself several tributaries, including the

Salzwedel Dumme The Salzwedeler Dumme is a left, western tributary of the Jeetzel (also: Jeetze) in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Course The Salzwedeler Dumme runs a few kilometres south of the border with the neighbouring state of Lower Saxony in the Altmark regi ...

and the

Wustrow Dumme Wustrower Dumme is a river of the German states Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony. It is a roughly long, and a left, western tributary of the Jeetzel (also: Jeetze). Course The Dumme runs through the border region between Altmark in the south and ...

. The name is Slavic, and means ''

ash (tree) ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergreen ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

''. Historically, when the Elbe rose too high, it would flooded the Jeetzel, which flowed "backwards" and flooded the surrounding area. Today, a system of canals prevents such flooding.

References

Rivers of Saxony-Anhalt Rivers of Lower Saxony Federal waterways in Germany Rivers of Germany {{LowerSaxony-river-stub

See also

References