Leine (river)

Leine
The Leine near Sarstedt-Ruthe
Country	Germany
States	Thuringia, Lower Saxony
Reference no.	DE: 488
Basin features
Main source	In Leinefelde in the Eichsfeld 340 m above sea level (NN)
River mouth	Near Schwarmstedt into the Aller at km 52.26 25 m above sea level (NN) 52°43′22″N 9°35′38″E / 52.72278°N 9.59389°E / 52.72278; 9.59389Coordinates: 52°43′22″N 9°35′38″E / 52.72278°N 9.59389°E / 52.72278; 9.59389
Progression	Aller → Weser → North Sea
River system	Weser
Basin size	6,512 km2 (2,514 sq mi)
Landmarks	Cities: Göttingen, Hanover Large towns: Leinefelde, Northeim, Einbeck, Alfeld, Laatzen, Seelze, Garbsen, Neustadt am Rübenberge Small towns: Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Gronau, Elze, Pattensen Villages: Freden, Burgstemmen, Bordenau, Bothmer (Schwarmstedt)
Tributaries	Left: Espolde, Ilme, Saale, Haller, Westaue Right: Garte, Rhume, Aue, Gande, Innerste, Auter
Physical characteristics
Length	281 km (175 mi)
Discharge	Location: at Göttingen gauge Average rate: 5.3 m3/s (190 cu ft/s)
Discharge (location 2)	Location: Greene Average rate: 32.0 m3/s (1,130 cu ft/s)
Discharge (location 3)	Location: Herrenhausen Average rate: 52.3 m3/s (1,850 cu ft/s)
Discharge (location 4)	Location: Schwarmstedt Average rate: 61.7 m3/s (2,180 cu ft/s)

The Leine (Old Saxon Lagina) is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the River Aller (and so of the River Weser as well) and 281 kilometres (175 mi) long.

The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About 40 kilometres (25 mi) downriver, the river enters Lower Saxony and runs northwards.

Important towns upstream to down along its course are Göttingen, Einbeck, Alfeld and Gronau, before the river enters Hanover, the largest city on its banks. Downstream some 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Hanover, near Schwarmstedt, the river joins the Aller and reaches the North Sea via the Weser. Only in its northern (lower) reaches is it navigable by today's smallest commercial carriers, though in the past it served as an important pre-railway barge transport artery as far upriver as Göttingen.

The river is somewhat polluted from industries and so not used for drinking water but the pollution was never severe enough to prevent fish from living in it. Like many western rivers since the 1960s, it has enjoyed successively cleaner waters since the implementation of environmental controls. People enjoy sport fishing from small boats and from along the banks, although yields are normally low.

At at least one point (Göttingen) the river is partially diverted into a canal that runs more or less parallel to the river.

In his 1986 bestseller Red Storm Rising, author Tom Clancy uses the Leine as a major obstacle to the Soviet Union's Red Army in its drive to the River Rhine and the North Sea ports of the Netherlands and Belgium through West Germany.