The Nete (; french: Nèthe, ) 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 ...

in northern

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 ...

, right tributary of the

Rupel The Rupel () is a tidal river in northern Belgium, right tributary of the Scheldt. It is about long. It flows through the Belgian province of Antwerp. It is formed by the confluence of the rivers Dijle and Nete, in Rumst. It flows into the Sche ...

. It flows through the Belgian province of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. It is formed in Lier, at the confluence of the rivers Grote Nete and Kleine Nete. It flows through

Duffel Duffel () is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the town of Duffel proper. On 1 January 2020, Duffel had a total population of 17,664. The total area is 22.71 km² which gives a population dens ...

and joins the river

Dijle The Dyle (french: Dyle ; nl, Dijle ) is a river in central Belgium, left tributary of the Rupel. It is long. It flows through the Belgian provinces of Walloon Brabant, Flemish Brabant and Antwerp. Its source is in Houtain-le-Val, near Nivelles ...

Rumst Rumst (, old spelling: ''Rumpst'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Since 1976 the municipality not only comprises Rumst proper but also the towns of (old spelling: ''Reeth'') and , which were independent municipali ...

to form the river Rupel. It drains nearly 60% of Antwerp province.

Grote Nete

The Grote Nete ''(Big Nete)'' river is about 85 km longIngrid Baten & Willy Huybrechts
De historische bedding van de bevaarbare Nete
2002, page 7 and has its source near

Hechtel Hechtel-Eksel () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On 1 January 2018 it had a total population of 12,290 an area of 76.70 km² giving a population density of 150 inhabitants per km². The municipality was created ...

in the Belgian province of

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

. It flows in western direction along the towns

Geel Geel () is a city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Further on around the cen ...

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. The ...

and

Heist-op-den-Berg Heist-op-den-Berg () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Heist-op-den-Berg proper (including the hamlets: Heist-Goor, Heist-Station, Zonderschot, Heist-Centrum and Bruggeneinde), the villages of ...

before joining the Kleine Nete in Lier. Its main tributaries are the near Geel, the near Westerlo, and the near

Herenthout Herenthout () is a municipality located in the province of Antwerp in Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherla ...

Kleine Nete

The Kleine Nete ''(Small Nete)'' river is about 50 km long and has its source near

Retie Retie (; french: Réthy, ) is a municipality located in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp, Belgium. The municipality comprises the town of Retie proper and several hamlets of which Schoonbroek is the largest. In 2021, Retie had a total ...

in the Belgian province of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. North of the Grote Nete flows in south-western direction along the towns

Herentals Herentals () is a city in the province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and . In 2021, Herentals had a total population of 28.194. The total area is . Saint Waltrude is the patron saint ...

and

Nijlen Nijlen () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of , Kessel and Nijlen proper. In 2021, Nijlen had a total population of 22,985. The total area is 39.09 km2. History In 1770, a ...

before joining the Grote Nete in Lier. Tributaries, all coming from the North, include the near

Kasterlee Kasterlee () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Kasterlee proper, Lichtaart and Tielen. In 2021, Kasterlee had a total population of 19,052. The total area is 71.56 km2. Th ...

, the } near

Grobbendonk Grobbendonk () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp ( nl, Antwerpen). The municipality comprises the towns of Bouwel and Grobbendonk proper. In 2021, Grobbendonk had a total population of 11,249. The total area is 28.36&nbs ...

, and the near

History

During the French occupation of the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...

(1792–1815) there was a ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' named after the river Nete, see

Deux-Nèthes Deux-Nèthes (, nl, Twee Neten) was a department of the First French Republic and of the First French Empire in present-day Belgium and the Netherlands. It was named after two branches of the river Nete (Grote Nete and Kleine Nete). The southern ...

Natural landscapes

On the valley of the Grote Nete lies the Scheps

natural landscape A natural landscape is the original landscape that exists before it is acted upon by human culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the kn ...

, between Olmen and Scheps.

References

Rivers of Belgium Rivers of Antwerp Province {{Belgium-river-stub