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Geografia d'Europa: textos de suport |
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Rhine River, Germany
Location
The Rhine is an important European river of a length of 1320 km. It rises
in the Alps, and in the Swiss canton of Graubumlnden both sources "Vorderrhein"
and "Hinterrhein" join. Called "Alpenrhein" it moves northward, out of
the Alps and into Lake Konstanz. Soon after it leaves the lake at its western
end, assuming the name of "Hoch-Rhein" and near Schaffhausen it forms the
"Rheinfall", a major fall.
Near the Swiss city of Basel the river turns north into the upper Rhine
lowland. For the next 150 km the Rhine marks the border between France
and Germany. Further north, from the city of Bingen on it forces its way
through the mountains of the "Rheinisches Schiefergebirge" into the following
Northern German lowlands. After running 865 km through Germany the Rhine
splits into a number of branches in the Netherlands and near the Dutch
city of Hoek van Holland its southern main-branch flows into the North
Sea.
Characteristics of the river
The Rhine-Fall is a waterfall in Switzerland, south of the city of Schaffhausen.
It is 150 metres wide and 20-25 metres deep . The water falls over white
limestone into its original riverbed. There are the tributary rivers Wutach
(from the east), Thur and Aare (from the west). When the snow melts in
springtime, the river can swell up to 650 cubic-m/sec, which is why there
is often high water in spring and summer. Although the Rhine-Fall became
smaller because of several power stations, it is the biggest and greatest
waterfall in Central Europe.
The Rhine is navigable from Basel to its mouth, a distance of some 500
miles (some 800 km). The transport of goods makes the Rhine economically
important. Only the fact that a yearly amount of 25 millions of goods are
transshipped in the harbour of Duisburg, Europe’s biggest inland harbour,
shows the huge extent of this goodstraffic which is managed by thousands
of ships. The principal rivers of Western Europe, including the Seine,
Elbe, Ems, Main, Donau, Rhine, and Saine are linked to the Rhine by canals.
The Rhine has been open to international navigation since 1868 by terms
of the Mannheim convention. Modern technologies now permit 24-hours navigation
and transport of heavier loads on the river such as coal, iron ore, grain,
potash, petroleum, iron and steel, timber and other commodities. In the
ports of Basel, Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Mainz, Koblenz, Köln and Duisburg
the goods are unloaded and transshipped. Because of the huge volume of
freight and number of passangers carried on it, the Rhine is one of the
most important inland waterways in the world. On its way to the ocean also
a lot of electrical current is generated which emphasizes the economical
significance of the Rhine.
The Rhine as an inland water is of importance for the industry since
various goods are transported on this river by inland ships. The inland
ship represents a fast and reliable means of transport.
How a Rhine lock works
Locks help ships to overcome different water levels. This is how a lock
works: if a ship wants to sail from lower to upper level it must move into
the lock chamber; the gates at both ends are closed and water is pumped
into the chamber; as soon as the water is level with the upper level ,
the (upper) lock gate is opened and the ship leaves the lock.
Wildlife on the Rhine
The "Graureiher" live at ponds, swamps and rivers. They fish for
fish and frogs in shallow water. The "Graureiher" are tall and slim. In
the past there were only two kinds of the larvas of ephemeras in the Central-Rhine-
area, in contrast to at least 15 kinds in the Upper-Rhine-area. Today larvas
of ephemeras have completely died out in the Central-Rhine-area. The barbel,
only found seldomly today, must be regarded as a leader-fish. Moreover
a number of other species existed there. There are important biotopes for
swamp- and waterbirds in the area below the city of Koblenz. The eagle-owl
brooded here until 1920. Still today the warmth-loving "Zippammer"(a bird)
which normally prefers the Mediterraneans lives on the cliffs of the Central-Rhine-area.
It resembles the "Goldammer" but has got a grey throat, a brown belly and
black head- stripes.
Nature Reserves along the Rhine
Nature reserves are areas that are completely or partially protected either
because of their scientific, historic or cultural interest or because of
their scenic beauty or individuality. Nature reserves are established by
order of the regional government and registered in the nature reserve book
at the federal office for environmental protection.
The "Kühkopf" Nature Reserve
The Kühkopf reserve lies in the northern Upper Rhine area about 15
km west of Darmstadt. With its 2400 hectars it is the largest riverbank
forest area in central Europe.The 16 km long loop of the Stockstadt- Ehrfeld
old Rhine around the Kühkopf island was once the original course of
the main river. Because the whole area lies within the vicinity of the
main Rhine dam it can be flooded completely and so basically natural conditions
are to be found everywhere. The flora of the "Kühkopf" consists mainly
of poplars, elms, willows and oaks. Rare birds can be seen in their natural
habitat. The "Mittelspecht" (a woodpecker species), nightingale and "Schwarzmilan"
are typical birds of the "Kühkopf" where almost 240 breeds have been
listed. Of course one also sees native animals such as the beaver,
deers stags, bats, chipmunks and birchmice. No animals in the reserve are
allowed to be hunted, poached or chased.
What are riverbank forests?
Riverbank forests are dependent on the periodical changes between floods
and aridity. The various plant communities establish themselves according
to the length of the periods. Except for a few small areas these typical
Upper Rhine riverbank forests have now all disappeared. The Kühkopf
wild life reserve is an example of these rare areas and is now used as
a nature reserve.
Waste water is purified in a Sewage Works before running
into the Rhine
Since stretches of water are not to be polluted by waste
products, waste water needs to be purified before being channeled into
a river. Therefore a sewage works is necessary which we want to explain
now:
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First of all rough matter such as paper or fibres are sieved out with a
fine grid, the "teeth" of which are ca. 6 1/2 inches apart from each other.
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Now sand and other heavy material is filtered out in a "sand-catch".
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Then the waste water enters a "pre-settling tank". Here coarse mud substances
as well as floating substances such as oil are separated. This is done
by first letting matter settle and then removing it with the help of a
"mud-remover".
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The waste water, thus having been mechanically pre- cleaned is now led
into an "activation-tank" where the micro-biologic decomposition of the
water's organic pollution takes place. This is executed in a "roundabout-system".
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The oxygen needed for this process is added through a "ventilation-rotor".
The oxygen is important since otherwise the biological decomposition cannot
happen.
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Now the water goes into a tank where certain chemicals are added in order
to purify it additionally.
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Hereafter the waste water floats into a "post-settling tank" where the
activated mud from the activation-tank is filtered out.
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After that the waste water has been biologically, chemically and mechanically
purified and through the "clear water-drain off-canal" .
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It finally runs into the Rhine.
History
The City of Speyer: Towering above this old imperial
city on the Rhine is the splendid romanesque cathedral, 1000 years old
and quite unique. The crypt holds the graves of eight German emperors and
kings. The cathedral dominates the town but there are many other historical
monuments, like the Heathen Tower, from the end of the 13th century or
the Jewish Bath, dating from 1100 A.D.
Mainz: Mainz developed from a Celtic settlement
left to the mouth of the river Main into the Rhine. For a long time Mainz
was a major centre of the wine trade along the Rhine and an important harbour
city. Today this city has 184.000 inhabitants and is the capital
of the state of "Rhineland-Palatinate" (Rheinland-Pfalz). Due to its favoured
location it is an important trade centre. In Mainz companies have been
established that manufacture machinery, process wood and produce leather
goods. It was registered as an archbishop's town as early as in 747A.D.
It became a centre of Christian Germany rather early. The priests' seminar
was founded at that time, and it is located in Mainz now. In the Middle
Ages Mainz was the most luxurious city on the Upper Rhine. The inventor
of book-printing, Johannes Gutenberg, was born here in 1400AD. There is
a museum in his honour in Mainz. Moreover there are the Mainz University
(hosting roughly 25.000 students), the Academy of Science and Literature,
the Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry and the School of Music and Art.
The city's symbol is the impressive cathedral built in Roman style.
Die Loreley: The Loreley Rock stands 133m
(or 399feet) above the water level on the right bank of the rive Rhine.
It stands near the village of St Goarshausen. The legend tells that in
the evening as darkness descends, a beautiful young maiden by the name
of Loreley, sits on the rock combing her long golden hair and singing a
haunting melody. Sailors on the river Rhine who look upon her are captivated
by her beauty, and forgetting where they are, head towards the treacherous
rock, and lose themselves(drown) in the depths of the river. This has been
the tragic fate of many ships and sailors.
Another story about Loreley: Some people say that Loreley really
lived. She was loved by lots of men because she was very beautiful. But
she only loved one knight. But one day he had to go to war. The other men
wanted to marry Loreley, but she was not interested in them. She only thought
of her knight. Many men killed themselves because they loved her. Soon
the people started to believe that she was a witch. Loreley was very unhappy.
The Archbishop of Cologne felt sorry for Loreley and decided to send her
to a convent. On the way to the convent she wanted to stand on the Loreley-rock
to look at her knight's castle for the last time. While she was standing
there, she saw the knight in a small boat on the Rhine. She shouted his
name. When the knight heard her, he forgot about the rocks, crashed onto
them and drowned. Loreley jumped into the Rhine because she wanted to be
near the knight. Nobody ever saw her again.
Maria Schwarze-Kaufmann
Leininger-Gymnasium,
Grumlnstadt, Germany
Última actualització: 25 d'agost de 2000