Saar (river)

The Saar () is a river in northeastern France (Grand Est) and western Germany (Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate). It is a right tributary of the Moselle River. It rises in the Vosges Mountains in Grand Est and flows northwards into the Moselle near Trier.

The first written mention of the Saar, in Latin language as Saravus, is found in the poem Mosella by the Roman poet Decimus Magnus Ausonius.

Geography
With a length of ,This is the length including the White Saar, following SANDRE, the French official organism; other organisms give a shorter length because they start to measure from the confluence of the White and the Red Saar rivers. it is the largest tributary of the Moselle river. Its drainage basin has an area of approximately .

Course
The Saar river is born at the foot of Mont Donon, the highest peak of the northern Vosges Mountains. It flows first for about  through the French region of Grand Est. The Saar marks the border between France and Germany for about  from its confluence with the Blies, between the towns of Sarreguemines and Saarbrücken and goes into German territory.

Then the river flows about  through the Saarland, and about  through the Rhineland-Palatinate and, finally, flows into the Moselle at Konz between Trier and the Luxembourg border.

Upper Saar
The Sarre Rouge (Red Saar) and Sarre Blanche (White Saar) are considered as the two source rivers of the Saar.

The Red and the White Saar have their sources on Donon, less than  distance apart. The source of the White Saar is near the town of Grandfontaine (Bas-Rhin department), and the source of the Red Saar is near the town of Abreschviller, (Moselle department). The confluence of the two rivers is near Hermelange (), south of Sarrebourg.Because SANDRE, the French official organism, considers the White Saar as the upper part of the Saar river, the Red Saar is considered a tributary of the White Saar - Saar river.

+ Headwaters of the Saar  Discharge Length Watershed Sourceheight Coordinates Red Saar 1.86 m³/s 26.8 km 107.3 km² 785 m  White Saar 1.60 m³/s 26.6 kmLänge in Teilstrecken 80.4 km² 710 m 

The Saar river, and its two source rivers, flow first through the Moselle department, in the Lorraine region; then, for a short distance, flow through the Bas-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region. From Sarrealbe to Sarreguemines, the Saar flows along the border with Germany. At Sarreguemines, the Blies river, the largest tributary of the Saar, flows into the Saar and its discharge rises from 20.9 m³/s to 41.5 m³/s.

Middle and lower Saar
From Sarreguemines, the Saar is navigable (it is deep, wide and slow enough for a ship to pass). Then the Saar gets into German territory forming a narrow valley through the western Rhenish Massif. At its beginning in this region, it forms the famous Saar loop (German: Saarschleife) at Mettlach.

After 246 km (129 km in France, and 117 km in Germany) the Saar flows into the Moselle river at Konz (Rhineland-Palatinate) between Trier and the Luxembourg border.

Grapes, to produce wine, are grown along the lower Saar, mainly between Serrig and Konz.

Tributaries of the Saar
Some of the important tributaries of the Saar are:
Left tributaries:
 Gondrexange; 19.3 km;
 Landbach; 18.1 km;
 Naubach; 23 km;
 L'Albe; 33.3 km;
 Rossel; 38 km;
 Bist; 26 km;
 Nied; 114 km.Right tributaries
 Bièvre, 24.8 km;
 Isch; 27 km;
 Eichel, 32.4 km;
 Blies, 99.5 km;
 Prims, 91 km.

Towns along the river
180px|thumbnail|right|View from Saarburg of the Saar
Some towns and cities found along the river are:
 France  Départments  Towns and cities  Moselle  Abreschviller (Sarre Rouge), Lorquin, Sarrebourg, Fénétrange  Bas-Rhin Sarre-Union  Moselle  Sarralbe, Sarreguemines Germany  Bundesländer  Towns and cities  Saarland  Saarbrücken, Völklingen, Wadgassen, Bous, Saarlouis, Dillingen,  Merzig  Rhineland-Palatinate  Saarburg, Konz

Gallery

Related pages
 List of rivers of France
 List of rivers of Germany
 Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

Notes

References

Other websites

 MULEWF Rheinland-Pfalz: Saar  

Category:Rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate
Category:Rivers of Saarland
Category:Rivers of Grand Est