Saar (river)

The Saar (French: Sarre) is a river in northeastern France (Grand Est) and western Germany (Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate). It is a right tributary of the Moselle River. It rises in the Vosges Mountains in Grand Est and flows northwards into the Moselle near Trier.

Saar
Saar loop at Mettlach
Location
Countries	France and Germany
Physical characteristics
Source	Sarre Blanche
- location	Vosges mountains, Bas-Rhin
- coordinates	48°31′37″N 7°09′45″E
- elevation	±800 m (2,600 ft)
2nd source	Sarre Rouge
- location	Vosges mountains, Moselle
- coordinates	48°32′05″N 7°10′05″E
- elevation	±670 m (2,200 ft)
Mouth
- location	Moselle
- coordinates	49°42′5″N 6°34′11″E
Length	246 km (153 mi)
Basin size	7,431 km2 (2,869 sq mi)
Discharge
- average	75 m3/s (2,600 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Progression	Moselle→ Rhine→ North Sea

The first written mention of the Saar, in Latin language as Saravus, is found in the poem Mosella by the Roman poet Decimus Magnus Ausonius.^[1]

Geography

Source of the Red Saar

Source of the White Saar

With a length of 246 km (153 mi),^{[N 1]} it is the largest tributary of the Moselle river. Its drainage basin has an area of approximately 7,431 km² (2,869 sq mi).

Course

The Saar river is born at the foot of Mont Donon, the highest peak of the northern Vosges Mountains. It flows first for about 126 km (78 mi) through the French region of Grand Est. The Saar marks the border between France and Germany for about 11 km (7 mi) from its confluence with the Blies, between the towns of Sarreguemines and Saarbrücken and goes into German territory.

Then the river flows about 68 km (42 mi) through the Saarland, and about 31 km (19 mi) through the Rhineland-Palatinate and, finally, flows into the Moselle at Konz between Trier and the Luxembourg border.

Upper Saar

The Sarre Rouge (Red Saar) and Sarre Blanche (White Saar) are considered as the two source rivers of the Saar.

The Red and the White Saar have their sources on Donon, less than 1 km (1 mi) distance apart. The source of the White Saar is near the town of Grandfontaine (Bas-Rhin department), and the source of the Red Saar is near the town of Abreschviller, (Moselle department). The confluence of the two rivers is near Hermelange (48°40′46″N 07°01′01″E), south of Sarrebourg.^{[N 2]}

The confluence of the Red Saar (rear) and White Saar (under the bridge)

Headwaters of the Saar

	Discharge	Length	Watershed	Source height	Coordinates
Red Saar[2]	1.86 m³/s	26.8 km	107.3 km²	785 m	48°32′4.3″N 07°2.7′0″E
White Saar[2]	1.60 m³/s	26.6 km[3]	80.4 km²	710 m	48°31′37″N 07°09′45″E

The Saar river, and its two source rivers, flow first through the Moselle department, in the Lorraine region; then, for a short distance, flow through the Bas-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region. From Sarrealbe to Sarreguemines, the Saar flows along the border with Germany. At Sarreguemines, the Blies river, the largest tributary of the Saar, flows into the Saar and its discharge rises from 20.9 m³/s to 41.5 m³/s.^[2]

Middle and lower Saar

From Sarreguemines, the Saar is navigable (it is deep, wide and slow enough for a ship to pass). Then the Saar gets into German territory forming a narrow valley through the western Rhenish Massif. At its beginning in this region, it forms the famous Saar loop (German: Saarschleife) at Mettlach.

After 246 km (129 km in France,^[4] and 117 km in Germany) the Saar flows into the Moselle river at Konz (Rhineland-Palatinate) between Trier and the Luxembourg border.

Grapes, to produce wine, are grown along the lower Saar, mainly between Serrig and Konz.

Tributaries of the Saar

Some of the important tributaries of the Saar are:

Left tributaries: Gondrexange; 19.3 km;[5] Landbach; 18.1 km;[6] Naubach; 23 km;[7] L'Albe; 33.3 km;[8] Rossel; 38 km;[9] Bist; 26 km;[10] Nied; 114 km.[11]

Right tributaries Bièvre, 24.8 km;[12] Isch; 27 km;[13] Eichel, 32.4 km;[14] Blies, 99.5 km;[15] Prims, 91 km.

Towns along the river

View from Saarburg of the Saar

Some towns and cities found along the river are:

France	Départments	Towns and cities
	Moselle	Abreschviller (Sarre Rouge), Lorquin, Sarrebourg, Fénétrange
	Bas-Rhin	Sarre-Union
	Moselle	Sarralbe, Sarreguemines
Germany	Bundesländer	Towns and cities
	Saarland	Saarbrücken, Völklingen, Wadgassen, Bous, Saarlouis, Dillingen, Merzig
	Rhineland-Palatinate	Saarburg, Konz

Gallery

• 
  The Saar near Saarlouis
• 
  The "small loop" of the Saar at Hamm
• 
  Mouth of the Saar at Konz
• 
  Vineyard Ayler Kupp, Saar river

Related pages

• List of rivers of France
• List of rivers of Germany
• Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

Notes

1. This is the length including the White Saar, following SANDRE, the French official organism; other organisms give a shorter length because they start to measure from the confluence of the White and the Red Saar rivers.
2. Because SANDRE, the French official organism, considers the White Saar as the upper part of the Saar river, the Red Saar is considered a tributary of the White Saar - Saar river.

References

1. "Wiki text and translation of the poem Mosella". Archived from the original on 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
2. "Débits Caracteristiques en m3/s" (PDF) (in French). Agence de l'Eau Rhin-Meuse. 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
3. Länge in Teilstrecken^{[permanent dead link]}
4. "La Sarre (A9--0100)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
5. "Ruisseau de Gondrexange (A9020440)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
6. "Ruisseau le Landbach (A9040380)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
7. "Ruisseau le Naubach (A9080300)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
8. "L'Albe (A91-0200)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
9. "Ruisseau la Rosselle (A95-0200)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
10. "Ruisseau Bruchbach (A9600440)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Retrieved 4 November 2013.^{[permanent dead link]}
11. "La Nied (A9--0120)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
12. "La Bievre (A9030300)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
13. "L'Isch (A90-0210)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
14. "Ruisseau l'Eichel (A92-0200)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
15. "La Blies (A93-0200)" (in French). SANDRE - Portail national d'accès aux référentiels sur l'eau. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2013.

Other websites

• MULEWF Rheinland-Pfalz: Saar Archived 2013-03-14 at the Wayback Machine (in German)