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( Rhine)
The Rhine (German Rhein; Dutch Rijn; French Rhin; Romansh Rain; Latin Rhenus) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe at 1,320 kilometres (820&_160;mi), with an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second. The name of the Rhine comes from the archaic German Rhine, which in turn comes from Middle High German Rin, from the Proto-Indo-European root *reie- ("to flow").[1] The Reno River in Italy shares the same etymology. The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the northern inland frontier of the Roman Empire, and since those days the Rhine has been a vital navigable waterway, carrying trade and goods deep inland. It has also served as a defensive feature, and has been the basis for regional and international borders. The many castles and prehistoric fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway. River traffic could be stopped at these locations, usually for the purpose of collecting tolls, by the state controlling that portion of the river. The Rhine's origins are in the Swiss Alps in the canton of Graubünden, where its two main initial tributaries are called Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein. The Vorderrhein (anterior Rhine) springs from Lake Tuma near the Oberalp Pass and passes the impressive Ruinaulta (the Swiss Grand Canyon). The Hinterrhein (posterior Rhine) starts from the Paradies Glacier near the Rheinquellhorn at the southern border of Switzerland. One of the latter tributaries originates in Val di Lei in Italy. Both tributaries meet near Reichenau, still in Graubünden. From Reichenau, the Rhine flows north as the Alpenrhein passing Chur and forming the border between Liechtenstein and then Austria on the east side, and canton St. Gallen of Switzerland on the west side, then emptying into Lake Constance. Emerging from Lake Constance, flowing generally westward as the Hochrhein it passes the Rhine Falls and is joined by the Aare river which more than doubles its water discharge to an average of nearly 1,000 cubic meters per second. It forms the boundary with Germany until it turns north at the so-called Rhine knee at Basel. The Rhine is the longest river in Germany. It is here that the Rhine encounters some of its main tributaries, such as the Neckar, the Main and later the Moselle, which contributes an average discharge of over 300 cubic meters per second. The north east of France drains to the Rhine via the Moselle and smaller rivers draining the Vosges and Jura uplands. Most of Luxembourg and a very small part of Belgium also drain to the Rhine via the Moselle. Approaching the Dutch border, the Rhine has an annual mean discharge of 2,290 cubic metres per second and an average width of 400 metres (1,300&_160;ft).
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