Aller
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| The canalised and poplar-lined Aller in the Drömling near Wolfsburg-Vorsfelde | |
| Location |
Saxony-Anhalt, Lower Saxony,  Germany
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|---|---|
| Reference no. | DE: 48 |
| Length | 211 km (131 mi) |
| Source | in Eggenstedt near Seehausen in the Magdeburg Börde 52°06′09″N 11°14′01″E / 52.1024528°N 11.2337028°ECoordinates: 52°06′09″N 11°14′01″E / 52.1024528°N 11.2337028°E |
| Source height | 130 m above sea level (NN) |
| Mouth |
Weser near Verden 52°56′45″N 9°11′08″E / 52.945825°N 9.1856139°E |
| Mouth height | 10 m above sea level (NN) |
| Descent | 120 m |
| Basin | Weser |
| Progression | Weser → North Sea |
| Catchment | 15,744 km² |
| Discharge | Average mid: 118 |
| Right tributaries | Kleine Aller, Ise, Lachte, Örtze, Meiße, Böhme, Lehrde, Gohbach |
| Left tributaries | Oker, Fuhse, Wietze, Leine, Alpe, Wölpe |
| Cities | Wolfsburg |
| Large towns | Gifhorn, Celle, Verden |
| Small towns | Oebisfelde-Weferlingen, Rethem |
| Villages | Wefensleben, Ingersleben, Müden, Wienhausen, Oldau, Winsen, Hodenhagen, Hülsen, Westen, |
| Navigable | 117 km; from Celle Class II, from Verden Class III |
The Aller is a 211-kilometre (131 mi) long river in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last 117 kilometres (73 mi) form the Lower Aller federal waterway (Bundeswasserstraße). The Aller was extensively straightened, widened and, in places, dyked, during the 1960s to provide flood control of the river. In a 20-kilometre (12 mi) long section near Gifhorn, the river meanders in its natural river bed.
The river's name, which was recorded in 781 as Alera, in 803 as Elera, in 1096 as Alara, has two possible derivations:
The Aller rises in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in the west of the region known as the Magdeburg Börde near Seehausen and north of Oschersleben (Bode). It has several source streams that run down the northeastern side of the Hohes Holz within the municipal boundaries of Wormsdorf (part of Gehringsdorf), Ovelgünne (part of Siegersleben) and Eggenstedt. The Eggenstedt tributary is the most southerly of the source streams. The nearest large centres of population in the source region are Helmstedt, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northwest, and Magdeburg around 25 kilometres (16 mi) east.
Initially, the Aller flows rather like a canalised brook in a northwestern direction through low hills and intensively farmed arable fields. As it does, it passes the Flechtingen Hills to the east and another range of hills to the west that stretches from the Lappwald over the Hohes Holz as far as Oschersleben (Bode). The river passes the villages of Eilsleben and Weferlingen. After about 60 river kilometres (37 river miles), it reaches Oebisfelde and the southern edge of the Drömling. After crossing the state border between Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony, the Aller bends sharply southwest near Grafhorst. Here, the terrain is already only about 55 metres (180 ft) above sea level. Between here and its mouth, 150 kilometres (93 mi) away, its elevation drops by only about 40 metres (130 ft), so that the speed of the current is considerably reduced in Lower Saxony. Near Grafhorst, the Aller meets the Breslau-Magdeburg-Bremen glacial valley and then, for the most part, follows it. From here on, the river mainly runs through grassland.
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