Saar (river)
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| Saar | |
|---|---|
 Saar loop at Mettlach. |
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| Origin | Vosges mountains |
| Mouth | Moselle 49°42′5″N 6°34′11″E / 49.70139°N 6.56972°ECoordinates: 49°42′5″N 6°34′11″E / 49.70139°N 6.56972°E |
| Basin countries | France, Germany |
| Length | 246 km |
| Source elevation | ±800 m |
| Avg. discharge | 75 m³/s |
| Basin area | 7,431 km² |
The Saar (French: Sarre) is a river in northeastern France and western Germany, and a right tributary of the Moselle River. It rises in the Vosges mountains on the border of Alsace and Lorraine, with two headstreams (Sarre Rouge and Sarre Blanche, united in Lorquin), that both start near Mont Donon, the highest peak of the northern Vosges. After 246 km (126 km in France and 120 km in Germany) the Saar flows into the Moselle River at Konz (Rhineland-Palatinate), having a catchment area of 7,431 km².
In former times, the Saar was very important for the Saarland industries of coal, iron and steel. Raw materials and finished products were shipped on it by water via the Saar Coal Canal, the Marne-Rhine Canal and the Rhine, for instance, to the Ruhrgebiet or the port of Rotterdam. Although the German part of the Saar has been upgraded to a waterway by deepening, construction of sluices and straightening, there is no significant shipping traffic.
The Saar flows through the following departments of France, states of Germany and towns:
- Moselle (F): Abreschviller (Sarre Rouge), Lorquin, Sarrebourg, Fénétrange
- Bas-Rhin (F): Sarre-Union
- Moselle (F): Sarralbe, Sarreguemines
- Saarland (D): Saarbrücken, Völklingen, Wadgassen, Bous, Saarlouis, Dillingen, Merzig
- Rhineland-Palatinate (D): Saarburg, Konz.
On the banks of the Saar is the UNESCO-World Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte. At Mettlach the Saar passes the well-known Saar loop.
[edit] Important tributaries of the Saar
[edit] Hydrology
- Length: 246 km, (126 in France, 120 km in Germany)
- Catchment area: 7,431 km²
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Saar River |
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