The Geul (, ; ; ) is a river in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where it is a right-bank tributary to the river

Meuse The Meuse or Maas 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 total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

Geography

The source of the Geul is at about above sea level in northeastern Belgium near the German border, south of the German town of

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

. From there, after flowing some in a northwestern direction, it leaves Belgium and enters the Netherlands at Cottessen in the Vaals municipality. After a further in a west-northwestern direction through the southernmost part of Limburg, which in its turn is the most southern province of the Netherlands, it flows into the Meuse, north of the city of

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

. A tributary of the Geul is the Gulp. Places through which the Geul passes are among others

Kelmis Kelmis (; , ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Liège (province), Liège, named for the historical deposits of Calamine (mineral), calamine (zinc ore) nearby. , the population was 10,881; the ...

(Belgium),

Valkenburg aan de Geul Valkenburg aan de Geul (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the southeastern Dutch Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. The name refers to the central town in the municipality, ...

, including Schin op Geul, and Meerssen (Netherlands).

Pollution

The water of the Geul is polluted seriously with heavy metals

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

and

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and as a result also is a serious source of heavy metal inflow into the Meuse. This pollution is a result of former zinc and lead mining activities near the Belgian towns of

(La Calamine) and

Plombières Plombières (; or ''Bleiberg'', ; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2006, Plombières had a total population of 10,401. The total area is 53.17 km2 which gives a population density ...

(formerly named Bleiberg). The last one of these mines have closed early in the 20th century. One of the reasons for giving up mining activities in Plombières was the occasional flooding of the mine by the Geul, as the bedrock (mainly

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

) contains many faults and fissures. Although mine factory buildings have been demolished, old railway dikes still are abundantly present in the area. They provide ideal hiking routes, that are known for the presence of so-called "zinc flora" (zinc-tolerant plants, such as yellow calamine violet and '' Viola calaminaria'').

Significant events

During the 2021 European floods, the banks of the river flooded, including in some of the major population centers such as

.De beelden van de wateroverlast in Zuid-Limburg
/ref>

Gallery

File:Kelmis Tueljebach - Geul.jpg, At Kelmis Tueljebach File:Schin op Geul-Geul-Schoonbron-1.JPG, At Schin op Geul File:Geul bij Strabeek Limburg.jpg, At Strabeek File:Geul voulwammes.jpg, Estuary at Voulwammes

References

{{Authority control International rivers of Europe Rivers of the Ardennes (Belgium) Rivers of Belgium Rivers of the Netherlands Rivers of Liège Province Rivers of South Limburg (Netherlands) Gulpen-Wittem Kelmis Meerssen Plombières Raeren Valkenburg aan de Geul

Geography

Pollution

Significant events

Gallery

See also

References