Neckar

Neckar
Neckar
	The Neckar near Stuttgart
Location
Country	Germany
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Black Forest
• elevation	706 m (2,316 ft)
Mouth
• location	Rhine
• coordinates	49°30′43″N 8°26′14″E / 49.51194°N 8.43722°E
Length	362.4 km (225.2 mi)
Basin size	13,928 km2 (5,378 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	145 m3/s (5,100 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Rhine→ North Sea

The Neckar (German pronunciation: [ˈnɛkaʁ] ^ⓘ) is a 362-kilometre-long (225 mi) river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwenningen in the Schwenninger Moos conservation area at a height of 706 m (2,316 ft) above sea level, it passes through Rottweil, Rottenburg am Neckar, Kilchberg, Tübingen, Wernau, Nürtingen, Plochingen, Esslingen, Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg, Marbach, Heilbronn and Heidelberg, before discharging on average 145 m³/s (5,100 cu ft/s) of water into the Rhine at Mannheim, at 95 m (312 ft) above sea level, making the Neckar its 4th largest tributary, and the 10th largest river in Germany. Since 1968, the Neckar has been navigable for cargo ships via 27 locks for about 200 kilometres (120 mi) upstream from Mannheim to the river port of Plochingen, at the confluence with the Fils.

From Plochingen to Stuttgart, the Neckar valley is densely populated and heavily industrialised, with several well-known companies. Between Stuttgart and Lauffen, the Neckar cuts a scenic, meandering, and in many places steep-sided, valley into fossiliferous Triassic limestones and Pleistocene travertine. Along the Neckar's valley in the Odenwald hills many castles can be found, including Hornberg Castle and Guttenberg Castle [de; lb; ru; uk] in Haßmersheim; the now-mothballed Obrigheim Nuclear Power Plant and the active Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Plant are also located there.

Traditionally the fertile plains have been intensively used for agriculture and its steep valley sides as vineyards.

^ ^a ^b Map services of the Baden-Württemberg State Office for the Environment, Survey and Conservation (Landesanstalt für Umwelt, Messungen und Naturschutz Baden-Württemberg)

[DE-BW_LUBW-1] Map services of the Baden-Württemberg State Office for the Environment, Survey and Conservation (Landesanstalt für Umwelt, Messungen und Naturschutz Baden-Württemberg)

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