The Peene () is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

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 ...

Geography

The Westpeene, with the Ostpeene as its longer tributary, and the Kleine Peene/Teterower Peene (with a ''Peene '' without specification (or ''Nordpeene'') as its smaller and shorter affluent) flows into

Kummerower See Lake Kummerow Anklam Anklam [], formerly known as Tanglim and Wendenburg, is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the ''Kleines Haff'', the western ...

and into the

Oder Lagoon Szczecin Lagoon ( pl, Zalew Szczeciński, german: Stettiner Haff, since 1945 sometimes also ''Oderhaff'' (Oder lagoon) or ''Pommersches Haff'' (Pomeranian lagoon)) is a lagoon in the Oder estuary, shared by Germany and Poland. It is separated f ...

. The western branch of the

Oder River The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

, which separates the island of

Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczecin ...

from the German mainland, is often also called Peene, but actually is considered a part of the Baltic Sea called the

Peenestrom The Peenestrom is a river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without ...

. It is one of three channels connecting the Oder Lagoon with the

Bay of Pomerania The Bay of Pomerania ( pl, Zatoka Pomorska; german: Pommersche Bucht; csb, Pòmòrskô Hôwinga) is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the Pomeranian shores of Poland and Germany. It stretches between the northernmost tip of the island ...

of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. (The other channels are the

Świna The Świna (; Pomeranian: ''Swina'') is a river in northwest Poland, between 2 and 4 km from the German border. It flows from Szczecin Lagoon to the Baltic Sea between the islands of Uznam and Wolin. It is a part of the Oder estuary, and car ...

and the

Dziwna The Dziwna () is a channel of the Oder River in northwestern Poland, one of three straits connecting the Oder Lagoon with the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea. It separates the island of Wolin from the rest of the Polish mainland. The other tw ...

.) Ostpeene-30-04-2008-263.jpg, Ostpeene Teterow-stadtmuehle.jpg, Old watermill on Kleine Peene in

Teterow Teterow () is a town of Germany, in the district of Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It is the geographical center of this federal state. It had a population of 8,852 in 2011. History The ''Stadtkirche St. Peter und Paul'' (St. Pete ...

Peene-in-Demmin-26-VIII-2007-07.jpg, Peene harbour in

Demmin Demmin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Demmin. Geography Demmin lies on the West Pomeranian plain at the confluence of the rivers ...

Peene bei Loitz.JPG, Peene river near

Loitz Loitz () is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the river Peene, 10 km northeast of Demmin, and 22 km southwest of Greifswald. The German local historian, philologi ...

Peene bei Jarmen.jpg, Peene river near

Jarmen Jarmen () is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the southern bank of the river Peene, 20 km south of Greifswald, in the historic region of Pomerania. Founded during the ...

Anklam Peene Fussgängerbrücke.JPG, Peene river in

Anklam Anklam [], formerly known as Tanglim and Wendenburg, is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the ''Kleines Haff'', the western ...

Peenestrom Wolgast.jpg, Peenestrom strait with

Wolgast Wolgast (; csb, Wòłogòszcz) is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic coast that can be ...

Wolgast -Der alte Speicher im Hafen- 2000 by-RaBoe.jpg, Peenestrom harbour in

Hydrography

The Peene river itself has some properties of an inlet. From

Kummerower See Lake Kummerow windkessel effect Windkessel effect is a term used in medicine to account for the shape of the arterial blood pressure waveform in terms of the interaction between the stroke volume and the compliance of the aorta and large elastic arteries (Windkessel vessels) an ...

of the large surface of this lake allows reverse flows that with northern wind may last as long as a week. These reverse flows do not only occur in times of low discharge of its effluent, but also in times of an overflow of precipitation. Peene Wasserstände bei Rückfluss

Ecology

The

Peene Valley The Peene Valley (german: Peenetal) is a landscape in West Pomerania in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It covers the area on either side of the river Peene in the districts of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Vorpommern-Greifswald a ...

is one of the largest contiguous

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

regions in central Europe. Thanks to its wilderness and intact nature, the river Peene and its valley is sometimes grandiloquently referred to as "the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

of the North". Peene: Paddeln auf dem Amazonas des Nordens
(Spiegel Online) Major towns at the Peene river are

Malchin Malchin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It offers some notable landmarks, such as two Brick Gothic town gates, a medieval defense tower, the Gothic town church of St. Johannis ...

and

is on

strait.

References

External links

*
www.peenetal-landschaft.de
- Association for natural protection of the Peene river valley (German) {{Authority control Rivers of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Federal waterways in Germany Rivers of Germany