Elz (Rhine)

Elz
View of the Hörnleberg, Obereck and Kandel (right) looking southeast over the middle Elz valley and Waldkirch
Course of the Elz
Location	Baden-Württemberg,  Germany
Reference no.	DE: 2338
Basin features
Main source	1,038 m above sea level (NHN)
River mouth	137 m above sea level (NHN)
Progression	Rhine → North Sea
River system	Rhine
Basin size	1,539 km²
Landmarks	Large towns: Waldkirch, Emmendingen Small towns: Elzach Villages: Winden im Elztal, Gutach im Breisgau, Teningen, Riegel am Kaiserstuhl
Tributaries	Left: Wilde Gutach, Glotter/Lossele, Dreisam, Eichstetter Mühlbach Right: Biederbach, Brettenbach, Bleiche, Ettenbach
Physical characteristics
Length	121.059 km (over the Old Elz)

The Elz is a river in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, a right tributary of the Rhine. It rises in the Black Forest, near the source of the Breg. The Elz flows through Elzach, Waldkirch and Emmendingen before reaching the Rhine near Lahr. Its length is approx. 90 km (56 mi).

The lower reaches of the Elz are by-passed by the Leopold Canal, a flood relief canal.

The Elz rises north of Furtwangen in the area of the Brend and the Rohrhardsberg mountains (between the Furtwänglehof and the Kolmenhof) not far from the source of the Breg which is hydrographically the source of the Danube.

In its upper reaches the Elz flows in a northerly direction, initially througy a high valley with pasture land, bog and ice age glacial landforms. Then after a steep drop at the little Elz Falls, it continues through a deeply incised, wooded and sparsely populated V-shaped valley.

In the Oberprechtal valley it bends sharply towards the southwest. This is the start of the middle (actual) Elz valley, which runs in a straight line towards the southwest, separating the High Black Forest (700 to 900 m) to the southeast from the far lower parts of the Central Black Forest. In the now densely populated valley are the town of Elzach, the villages of Winden and Gutach im Breisgau, where the Elz receives the waters of the Wild Gutach, which is just under half its size. Below the town of Waldkirch the Elz enters the Upper Rhine Plain near Denzlingen in the Freiburg Bay. From now on it flows in a northwesterly direction, past Emmendingen and Teningen. Some of the water of the Elz is diverted into a millstream through Emmendingen, where it drives several hydropower stations and enhances the appearance of the town. Near Riegel on the Kaiserstuhl the Elz merges with the Dreisam from Freiburg im Breisgau and the Old Dreisam.