Kleine Aa (or the Little Aabach) is a river of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

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 tributary of the Aabach. Thus it is part of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

River Basin. The Kleine Aa rises in East Westphalia 7 km north of the border to Hesse, between Bad Wunnenberg to the north-northwest and Marsberg in the east on the border between

Brilon Plateau The Brilon Plateau (german: Briloner Hochfläche) is a highland area in the county of Hochsauerlandkreis in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is surrounded by the Brilon Heights (''Briloner Höhen''), whose mountains reach a heig ...

to the west and Sintfeld to the north. Its source is located 4.5 km west of Marsberg and about 5.4 km north-east of Brilon-Madfeld. Its water comes from a small wetland, located approximately 650 m northeast of the

Totenkopf ''Totenkopf'' (, i.e. ''skull'', literally "dead person's head") is the German word for the skull and crossbones symbol. The "skull and crossbones" symbol is an old international symbol for death, the defiance of death, danger, or the dead, as ...

(502.6 m above sea level. NHN) on average 465 meters above sea level. A few hundred meters northeast of the source of the Kleine Aa is the source of the Karpke ( "Cold Siepen"), not far south are the northern boundary of the nature park Diemelsee and the headwaters of Dütlingsbach. The sister stream of the Kleine Aa, the

Große Aa The Große Aa is a , right, eastern tributary of the River Ems in western Lower Saxony (Germany). It begins in the ''Samtgemeinde'' Freren, near the quarter of Overwater, at the confluence of the Deeper Aa and Ahe rivers. From there is flows t ...

, rises about 1.5 km south-west of its source. The Kleine Aa flows generally north through a forested region between

Obermarsberg Obermarsberg is one of seventeen quarters in the municipality of Marsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the site of an Old Saxon hillfort and refuge castle, the Eresburg, on a hill 130m above the Diemel river, a tributary o ...

, Madfeld and

Fürstenberg Fürstenberg (also Fuerstenberg and Furstenberg) may refer to: Historical states * Fürstenberg-Baar, county (1441–1559) * Fürstenberg-Blumberg, county (1559–1614) * Fürstenberg-Donaueschingen, county (1617–1698) * Fürstenberg-Fürsten ...

, accompanied by forest roads and hiking trails. It feeds seven ponds and passes a former glassworks. Finally, the Kleine Aa flows approximately 3 km south of Fürstenberg on 345.7 m elevation into the southeastern branch of the Aabachstausee, which is traversed by the Aabach. Since establishment of this small reservoir the last almost 800 m flow path of the stream to its former confluence with the Aabach are flooded by waters of the dam. Total Kleine Aa is therefore about 6.3 km long.

References

Rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia Rivers of Germany {{NorthRhineWestphalia-river-stub

See also

References