Rhine basin

The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers of Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Constance downstream, it forms part of the Swiss-German border. After that the Rhine defines much of the Franco-German border. It then flows in a mostly northerly direction through the German Rhineland. Finally, the Rhine turns to flow predominantly west to enter the Netherlands, eventually emptying into the North Sea. It drains an area of 185,000 km2.

waterfall on the Rhein River in Switzerland

landscape of Rhine valley between Nahe mouth and Bonn

section of the river Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany

thumb|right|Aachtopf historical postcard, 1910 The Aachtopf () is Germany's biggest karst spring, south of the western end of the Swabian Jura near the town of Aach. It produces an average of 8,500 litres per second. Most of the water stems from the River Danube where it disappears underground at the Danube Sinkhole, north near Immendingen and about north near Fridingen. The cave system has been explored since the 1960s, but as of 2020 only a small part has been discovered due to a large blockage after a few hundred metres.

the larger of the two lakes of Lake Constance

Sufnersee is a reservoir between Splügen and Sufers on the Hinterrhein river in the Grisons, Switzerland, surrounded by peaks of the Adula Alps. The Sufers dam was built in 1962. The reservoir has a volume of 17.5 million m³ and its surface area is 0.90 km². ==Notes==

part of Rhine river north of Bonn, Germany

German waterfalls