The Schwalm (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
) or Swalm (
Dutch), is a small
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 ...
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 ...
and 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 Netherl ...
, tributary to the river
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 t ...
. Its source is near
Wegberg, in the
district Heinsberg, south-west of
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border.
Geography Municipal subdivisions
Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...
, in
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). The Schwalm flows through
Wegberg and
Brüggen before flowing into the Meuse across the border with the Netherlands, in
Swalmen
Swalmen (; li, Zjwame ) is a town in the south-eastern Netherlands. The town is situated between the German border and the river Meuse (''Maas'' in Dutch).
Until 1 January 2007, Swalmen was a separate municipality, covering the villages Swalmen, ...
. Its total length is 45 km.
Sources
The original source region has since become an area of
carr with poor water quality. The water of the Schwalm comes mainly from ''
Rheinbraun
RWE AG is a German multinational energy company headquartered in Essen. It generates and trades electricity in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States. The company is Europe's most climate threatening Company, the world's number two in offs ...
's'' waste water pits. This
brown coal open cast mine is required to feed the waste water into the surface water. Otherwise it would fill the mine, which is up to 230 metres deep.This is achieved by means of shafts (''Schlitzschächten'') through which the water flows back into the
groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...
. If it were not for these shafts, the rivers
Niers
The Niers (, ) is a river in Germany and The Netherlands, a right tributary of the river Maas (Meuse). Its wellspring is near Erkelenz, south of Mönchengladbach, in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany).
Course and length
The Niers flows through Mö ...
and Schwalm would long since have dried up. This would also destroy the mixed alder and ash wet woodland typical of the region.
Course
![Schwalm-Quelle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Schwalm-Quelle.jpg)
The
source of the Schwalm is in a
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
area south of the German village of
Wegberg-
Tüschenbroich at an elevation of about . From there the river flows mainly through the
Maas-Schwalm-Nette Nature Park
The Maas-Schwalm-Nette Nature Park (german: Naturpark Maas-Schwalm-Nette; nl, Grenspark Maas-Swalm-Nette) or NMSM is a cross-border nature park in Germany and the Netherlands, which was founded in 2002. It is a regionally important recreation ...
, its riverbed running between the rivers
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 ...
,
Nette
Nette can refer to: Rivers
* Nette (Innerste), a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, tributary to the Innerste
* Nette (Hase), a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, tributary to the Hase
* Nette (Middle Rhine), a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, tr ...
and
Niers
The Niers (, ) is a river in Germany and The Netherlands, a right tributary of the river Maas (Meuse). Its wellspring is near Erkelenz, south of Mönchengladbach, in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany).
Course and length
The Niers flows through Mö ...
.
Of its total length from this source to its
mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
on the
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 t ...
, near the village of
Swalmen
Swalmen (; li, Zjwame ) is a town in the south-eastern Netherlands. The town is situated between the German border and the river Meuse (''Maas'' in Dutch).
Until 1 January 2007, Swalmen was a separate municipality, covering the villages Swalmen, ...
at about , 13 kilometres of the river run through Dutch territory.
Parts of the river which, for example, run past the villages of
Wegberg,
Niederkrüchten
Niederkrüchten is a municipality in the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km east of Roermond and 15 km west of Mönchengladbach.
Elmpt
The formerly separate settlement of Elmp ...
,
Schwalmtal,
Brüggen-Born,
Brüggen and
Swalmen
Swalmen (; li, Zjwame ) is a town in the south-eastern Netherlands. The town is situated between the German border and the river Meuse (''Maas'' in Dutch).
Until 1 January 2007, Swalmen was a separate municipality, covering the villages Swalmen, ...
, form natural
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...
s.
The
catchment area
In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
of the Schwalm is 268.7 square kilometres,
of which around 27 square kilometres lie in the Netherlands.
Tributaries
*
Beeckbach
*
Mühlenbach
*
Knippertzbach
*
Kranenbach
* Elmpter Bach
Flora and fauna
The
carr and
heath/
bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
areas along the Schwalm provide a diverse habitat for
fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
and
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
.
Frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
s,
dragonflies,
damselflies
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...
,
bluethroat,
kingfisher and
golden oriole are to be found as are
water crowfoot
''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots.
The genus is distributed in Europe, ...
,
bog myrtle and other rare plants.
brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
,
barbel and
chub
Chub is a common fish name. It pertains to any one of a number of ray-finned fish in several families and genera. In the UK, the term ''chub'' usually refers to the species ''Squalius cephalus''. In addition, see sea chub.
In family Cyprinidae ...
are at home in the river; along the
river banks are also various members of the eter
water rat family.
References
External links
Maas-Schwalm-Nette Nature ParkSchwalm-Nette Nature Reserve
Rivers of the Netherlands
Rivers of Limburg (Netherlands)
Rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia
Beesel
Roermond
Rivers of Germany
International rivers of Europe
{{Netherlands-river-stub