Alb (High Rhine)
| Alb | |
|---|---|
View from Spießhorn eastward into Menzenschwander Alb valley
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| Country | Germany |
| Location | Black Forest |
| Basin features | |
| Main source | Menzenschwander Alb 1,347 m (4,419 ft) 47°51′42″N 8°1′37″E / 47.86167°N 8.02694°E |
| River mouth | Confluence with Rhine at Albbruck 308 m (1,010 ft) 47°35′3″N 8°7′43″E / 47.58417°N 8.12861°ECoordinates: 47°35′3″N 8°7′43″E / 47.58417°N 8.12861°E |
| Progression | Rhine → North Sea |
| River system | Rhine |
| Basin size | 241 km2 (93 sq mi) |
| Tributaries |
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| Physical characteristics | |
| Length | 42.8 km (26.6 mi) |
The Alb is a river in the Black Forest. It arises from two headwaters, the Menzenschwander Alb and Bernauer Alb and flows in a southerly direction. It ends after 42.8 kilometres (26.6 mi) at a confluence with the High Rhine at Albbruck.
The name Alb is possibly derived from a Proto-Indo-European word *albhos meaning "white" or perhaps "river".
The headwaters of the Menzenschwander Alb lie on the southern slope of the Feldberg mountain range in the Landkreis of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald. The Bernauer Alb rises on the southern slope of the Herzogenhorn. The Menzenschwander Alb is about 12 kilometres (7 mi) long and flows south-east past Menzenschwand. The Bernauer Alb is about 11 kilometres (7 mi) long; it also flows south-east, past Bernau. The confluence of the two headwaters is at Glashofsäge, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Sankt Blasien.
The valleys of both headwaters were widened by glaciers during the ice age. Both are about 900 metres (3,000 ft) high and dominated by grassland. The Bernau valley is a broad basin, characterized by moraines, marshy valleys, ravines, and Roche moutonnées. The hamlets and isolated farms that make up the valley lie some distance above the frost-prone valley floor.
The glacial features in the Menzenschwand valley are even more striking. The Menzenschwander Kluse is a well-known terminal moraine. Below the Kluse, the Menzenschwand Alb plunges with several waterfalls through a small ravine to a basin created by the former Krunkelbach valley glacier.
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Wikipedia