Sauer

Sauer
The Sauer in Echternach
Path of the Sauer [1]
Location
Countries
Reference no.DE: 262
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationSource region: In the Ardennes on the soil of Libramont-Chevigny near the Planchipont farm (Belgium)
 • elevationca. 510 m (1,670 ft)
Mouth 
 • location
Between Wasserbilligerbrück (Germany) and Wasserbillig (Luxembourg) into the Moselle
 • coordinates
49°42′49″N 6°30′24″E / 49.7135889°N 6.5066861°E / 49.7135889; 6.5066861
 • elevation
ca. 133 m above NHN
Length173 km (107 mi)
Basin size4,259 km2 (1,644 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • locationat its mouth[1]
 • average53.8 m3/s (1,900 cu ft/s)
Basin features
ProgressionMoselleRhineNorth Sea
River systemMoselle
Map

The Sauer (German and Luxembourgish, German pronunciation: [ˈzaʊ̯ɐ] , Luxembourgish: [ˈzɑʊɐ] ) or Sûre (French, French pronunciation: [syʁ] ) is a river in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. A left tributary of the Moselle, its total length is 173 kilometres (107 mi).

Rising near Vaux-sur-Sûre in the Ardennes in southeastern Belgium, the Sauer flows eastwards and becomes the border with Luxembourg near Martelange. It forms the border between Belgium and Luxembourg for 13 kilometres (8 mi) north of Martelange. West of Esch-sur-Sûre it flows into an artificial lake, the Upper Sûre Lake created by the Esch-sur-Sûre Dam, which gives its (French) name to the Luxembourgish commune of Lac de la Haute-Sûre. After flowing through Ettelbruck and Diekirch, the Sauer forms the border between Luxembourg and Germany for the last 50 kilometres (31 mi) of its course, passing Echternach before emptying into the Moselle in Wasserbillig. The rivers Wiltz, Alzette, White Ernz, Black Ernz, Our, and Prüm are tributaries.

  1. ^ Added gauge data from Bollendorf (Sauer), Prümzurlay (Prüm) und Alsdorf-Oberecken (Nims), increased by the remaining catchment area (199 km²) with a conservatively estimated mq of 10