The Perlenbach Valley (german: Perlenbachtal or ''Perlbachtal'') is the valley of the Perlenbach stream in the

Eifel The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...

mountains in the countries of

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The Perlenbach itself is a tributary of the

Rur The Rur or Roer (german: Rur ; Dutch and li, Roer, , ; french: Rour) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse ( nl, links=no, Maas). About 90 perce ...

. The Perlenbach Valley is host to two outstanding, cultural-historical nature reserves along the state border which have a total area of 398 ha.

Perlenbach

The Perlenbach, in

East Belgium The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...

called the ''Schwalmbach'', is formed from several headstreams and tributaries, most of which rise on Belgian soil in the Elsenborn Training Area near the twin-villages of Rocherath-Krinkelt, in the municipality of

Büllingen Büllingen (; french: Bullange, ) is a municipality of East Belgium, located in the Belgian province of Liège, Wallonia. On January 1, 2006, Büllingen had a total population of 5,385. The total area is 150.49 km² which gives a population de ...

Liège Province Liège (; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium. Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Du ...

. There, where it is still called the Schwalmbach, it gathers water from the Rinnsaler Schwalmbach, Krockesbach, Kranbach, Drosbach, Lienbach, Büllingerbach (or Fuhrstbach), the Wolfsbach and the Heisterbach. From its confluence with the Heisterbach it is then known as the Perlenbach. It flows northwards, is impounded by the Perlenbach Dam and discharges into the

in Germany, west of the town of

Monschau Monschau (; french: Montjoie, ; wa, Mondjoye) is a small resort town in the Eifel region of western Germany, located in the Aachen district of North Rhine-Westphalia. Geography The town is located in the hills of the North Eifel, within the ...

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 ...

. Its waters are mainly used to supply drinking water by means of the reservoir and its associated waterworks.

Perlenbach Dam

In the transition zone from the upper to the lower nature reserve the Perlenbach flows into the Perlenbach Reservoir. Its dam was built from 1953 to 1956 as a rock dam with an external tarmac skin. The reservoir has a maximum capacity of 0.8 million m³. It ensures the

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

of the

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- ...

Düren Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a people ...

region.

References

''Wasserwerk Perlenbach – Übersichtsplan Einzugsgebiet''
, auf wasserwerk-perlenbach.de (PDF; 123 KB) Wasserversorgungszweckverbandes Perlenbach
auf wasserwerk-perlenbach.de

Literature

External links

Regions of the Eifel Valleys of North Rhine-Westphalia Geography of Liège Province Büllingen Monschau {{Coord, 50.512062, N, 6.249762, E, type:landmark_region:DE-NW, display=title