The Gera 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 ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

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 Gera is a right tributary of the

Unstrut The Unstrut () is a river in Germany and a left tributary of the Saale. The Unstrut originates in northern Thuringia near Dingelstädt (west of Kefferhausen in the Eichsfeld area) and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Basin. ...

. It originates in the

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German), is a mountain range in the southern parts of the German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorge on its north-west side i ...

, west of

Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany. It is the largest town within the Ilm district with a population of 38,600, while the district capital is Arnstadt. Ilmenau is located approximately south of Erfurt and north of Nuremberg w ...

. The Gera is formed in

Plaue Plaue is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Gera, 11 km north of Ilmenau, and 8 km southwest of Arnstadt. The former municipality Neusiß was merged into Plaue in January 2019. Plaue sta ...

, by the confluence of the Wilde Gera and the

Zahme Gera Zahme Gera is a river of Thuringia, Germany. At its confluence with the Wilde Gera in Plaue, the Gera Gera is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt an ...

. It empties into the Unstrut in Straußfurt. The total length of the Gera (including Wilde Gera) is . The largest towns along the Gera are Arnstadt and

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

. The city

Gera Gera is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of cit ...

is not situated along the River Gera. Along its way, Gera River splits up and reunites multiple times. Branches of the Gera are: * Confluencing Tributaries: Wilde Gera, Zahme Gera * Erfurt Area:

Flutgraben The Flutgraben is a canal in Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany. It is a flood control channel, created between 1890 and 1898 in order to prevent flooding of the river Gera Gera is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabita ...

(constructed after 1873 in order to protect Erfurt from floodings, this was successful), Bergstrom,

Breitstrom The Breitstrom is a branch of the river Gera in the old part of the city of Erfurt, Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of ...

, Zahme Gera * Between Erfurt and the Unstrut: Gera,

Schmale Gera Schmale Gera is a river of Thuringia, Germany. It is a distributary of the Gera in Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ...

, Mahlgera The original name of Gera River was ''Erphes River'' (Latin for brown, muddy water), which survived in the name of

coming from “ford at Erphes River”.

See also