| Elbe Elve | |
|---|---|
 The Elbe (Labe) near Děčín, Czech Republic | |
 The Elbe drainage basin | |
| Native name |
|
| Location | |
| Countries | |
| Regions (CZ) | |
| States (DE) | |
| Cities | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Elbe Meadow |
| • location | Giant Mountains, Czech Republic |
| • coordinates | 50°46′32.59″N 15°32′10.14″E / 50.7757194°N 15.5361500°E |
| • elevation | 1,386 m (4,547 ft) |
| Mouth | North Sea |
• location | Germany |
• coordinates | 53°55′20″N 8°43′20″E / 53.92222°N 8.72222°E |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 1,112 km (691 mi) |
| Basin size | 148,268 km2 (57,247 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | mouth |
| • average | 870 m3/s (31,000 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 493 m3/s (17,400 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 1,232 m3/s (43,500 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Děčín |
| • average | 303 m3/s (10,700 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Vltava, Ohře, Mulde, Saale, Ohre, Ilmenau, Este, Lühe, Schwinge, Oste, Medem |
| • right | Jizera, Schwarze Elster, Havel, Elde, Bille, Alster, Mrlina |
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The Elbe (German: [ˈɛlbə] ; Czech: Labe [ˈlabɛ] ; Low German: Ilv or Elv; Upper and Lower Sorbian: Łobjo, pronounced [ˈwɔbʲɔ]) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 kilometres (68 miles) northwest of Hamburg. Its total length is 1,094 km (680 mi).[1]
The Elbe's major tributaries include the rivers Vltava, Saale, Havel, Mulde, Schwarze Elster, and Ohře.[1]
The Elbe river basin, comprising the Elbe and its tributaries, has a catchment area of 148,268 square kilometres (57,247 sq mi), the twelfth largest in Europe. The basin spans four countries; however, it lies almost entirely just in two of them, Germany (65.5%) and the Czech Republic (33.7%, covering about two thirds of the nation's territory). On its southeastern edges, the Elbe river basin also comprises small parts of Austria (0.6%) and Poland (0.2%). The Elbe catchment area is inhabited by 24.4 million people; its biggest cities are Berlin, Hamburg, Prague, Dresden and Leipzig.[1]
- ^ a b c "Elbe River basin" (PDF). International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe River. Retrieved 2018-03-20.