Olef

Olef
The Olef is a river in Liège, Belgium and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is long and a left-hand tributary of the Urft. It flows through the Eifel Mountains in the western part of the Germany and eastern part of Belgium.
Geography
The Olef rises on the Ramscheider Höhe, near the Zitter Forest, about southwest of Hollerath at an elevation of , immediately on the state border. From here it flows initially northwest and through the woods of the Dreiherren Wald. The valley of the Olef forms the state border here which runs along the river. From its confluence with the Wiesbach it enters Germany. It then forms inter alia, the eastern boundary of the safety zones of the Elsenborn Military Training Area. The river course changes direction in a wide arc to head east.
In the next section the Olef flows through the Schleiden Forest (Forst Schleiden) and is impounded to create the Olef Reservoir in front of Hellenthal. In Hellenthal it is joined from the right and southwest by the Platißbach. At the end of the village of Hellenthal, near Kirschseiffen, the river turns north. At the northern edge of Blumenthal it picks up the Reifferscheider Bach from the right. Other villages en route are Oberhausen, Schleiden, Olef, Nierfeld and Gemünd. Here the Olef discharges into the Urft from the left at a height of .
Along its 27.9-kilometre-long route the Olef descends through 335 metres, which represent an average riverbed gradient of 12 ‰. It drains an area of
Tributary streams
Jansbach – 4.7 km long, left-hand tributary at
Troglichtenbach – 2.9 km long, left-hand tributary
Rathssiefen – 1.7 km long, right-hand tributary
Merlenbach – 1.4 km long, right-hand tributary at
Wiesbach – 5.8 km long, left-hand tributary at
Reiffelbach – 1.8 km long, left-hand tributary at
Kürteborn – 0.7 km long, right-hand tributary discharging into the Olef Reservoir at
Lehrbach – 1.1 km long, right-hand tributary discharging into the Olef Reservoir at
Birkensiefen – 1.5 km long, left-hand tributary
Hesselbach – 1.8 km long, left-hand tributary discharging into the Olef Reservoir at
Hesselbach – 1.2 km long, right-hand tributary discharging into the Olef Reservoir at
Engelmannssiefen – 0.9 km long, left-hand tributary
Jüngselbach – 2.5 km long, left-hand tributary discharging into the Olef Reservoir at
Schürenter Siefen – 0.5 km long, left-hand tributary
Tössiefen – 0.8 km long, right-hand tributary discharging into the Olef Reservoir at
Gammelsbach – 1.0 km long, left-hand tributary
Moderbach – 1.1 km long, right-hand tributary discharging into the Olef Reservoir at
Bernerssiefen – 0.8 km long, left-hand tributary
Kohlsiefen – 1.3 km long, left-hand tributary
Platißbach – 7.4 km long, right-hand tributary in Hellenthal at
Hintersiefen – 0.9 km long, right-hand tributary
Reifferscheider Bach – 13.7 km long, right-hand tributary in Blumenthal at
Mühlenseifen – 1.4 km long, right-hand tributary
Rinkenbach – 2.9 km long, right-hand tributary in Oberhausen at
Holzbach – 1.9 km long, left-hand tributary
Hellesbach – 2.3 km long, left-hand tributary near Oberhausen at
Scheidebach – 2.2 km long, right-hand tributary near Wiesgen at
Holgenbach – 1.3 km long, right-hand tributary
Dieffenbach – 7.3 km long, left-hand tributary in Schleiden at
Höddelbach – 4.3 km long, left-hand tributary in Schleiden at
Rosselbach – 2.1 km long, right-hand tributary near Schleiden at
Selbach – 2.6 km long, right-hand tributary near Olef at
Paffenbach – 1.4 km long, left-hand tributary
Frohnbach – 1.1 km long, right-hand tributary
Dehlenbach – 2.2 km long, right-hand tributary
Tränkelbach – 1.6 km long, right-hand tributary
References
External links
Rivers of the Ardennes (Belgium)
Rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia
Rivers of Belgium
Rivers of Liège Province
Büllingen
Rivers of the Eifel
Rivers of Germany
Belgium–Germany border
International rivers of Europe
Border rivers