Main (river)

Main
The Main River in Würzburg
Position of the Main in Germany
Origin	Upper Franconia 50°5′11″N 11°23′54″E / 50.08639°N 11.39833°E / 50.08639; 11.39833
Mouth	Rhine 49°59′40″N 8°17′36″E / 49.99444°N 8.29333°E / 49.99444; 8.29333Coordinates: 49°59′40″N 8°17′36″E / 49.99444°N 8.29333°E / 49.99444; 8.29333
Basin countries	Germany
Length	527 km (327 mi)
Avg. discharge	200 m3/s (7,100 cu ft/s) at mouth
Basin area	27,292 km2 (10,538 sq mi)

The Main (German pronunciation: [ˈmaɪn]) is a river in Germany, with a length of 527 km (327 mi) (including the White Main: 574 km (357 mi)) the most significant right tributary of the Rhine.

Geography

The Main flows through the German states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg (forming the border with Bavaria for some distance) and Hesse. Its watershed competes with the Danube for water; as a result, many of its boundaries are identical with those of the European Watershed.

The Main begins near Kulmbach in Franconia at the joining of its two headstreams, the Red Main (Roter Main) and the White Main (Weißer Main). The Red Main rises in the Franconian Jura mountain range, 50 km (31 mi) in length, and runs through Creussen and Bayreuth. The White Main rises in the mountains of the Fichtelgebirge; it is 41 km (25 mi) long. In its upper and middle section it runs in valleys of the German Highlands. In its lower section it crosses the Lower Main Lowlands (Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin and northern Upper Rhine Plain) to Wiesbaden, where it discharges into the Rhine River. Major tributaries of the Main are the Regnitz, the Fränkische Saale, the Tauber, and the Nidda.

The name derives from the Latin Moenus or Menus, and is not related to the name of the city Mainz (Latin: Moguntiacum).

Navigation

The Main is navigable for shipping from its mouth at the Rhine close to Mainz for 396 km to Bamberg. Since 1992, the Main has been connected to the Danube via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and the highly regulated Altmühl river. The river has been canalized with 34 large locks (300 × 12 m (980 × 39 ft)) to allow CEMT class V (110 × 11.45 m (360 × 37.57 ft)) vessels to navigate the total length of the river. The 16 locks in the adjacent Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and the Danube itself are of the same dimensions.

Tributaries

Tributaries from source to mouth:

Left Regnitz Tauber Mümling

Right Itz Franconian Saale Aschaff Kahl Kinzig Nidda

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  The Main in Frankfurt

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  Confluence into the Rhine at Mainz-Kostheim

Ports and municipalities

Around Frankfurt are several large inland ports. Because the river is rather narrow on many of the upper reaches, navigation with larger vessels and push convoys requires great skill.

The largest cities along the Main are Frankfurt am Main and Würzburg. The Main also passes the following towns and cities: Burgkunstadt, Lichtenfels, Bad Staffelstein, Eltmann, Haßfurt, Schweinfurt, Volkach, Kitzingen, Marktbreit, Ochsenfurt, Karlstadt, Gemünden, Lohr, Marktheidenfeld, Wertheim, Miltenberg, Obernburg, Erlenbach/Main, Aschaffenburg, Seligenstadt, Hainburg, Hanau, Offenbach, Hattersheim, Flörsheim, and Rüsselsheim.

The river has gained enormous importance as a vital part of European "Corridor VII", the inland waterway link from the North Sea to the Black Sea.^[1]

Main line

In a historical and political sense, the Main line is referred to as the the northern border of Southern Germany, with its predominantly Catholic population. The river roughly marked the southern border of the North German Federation, established in 1867 under Prussian leadership as the predecessor of the German Empire.

The river course also corresponds with the Speyer line isogloss between Central and Upper German dialects, sometimes mocked as Weißwurstäquator.

References

1. ^ "NoorderSoft Waterways Database". http://www.noordersoft.com/indexen.html. Retrieved 2007-10-24. 

External links

• Main River Website on the River Main by the Tourist Board of Franconia. (English)