Rhine Valley

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Netherlands it divides into a number of arms which flow separately into the North Sea.

The widest stretch of the Rhine is between Mainz and Bingen (between 400m/440yd and 800m/880yd). In its passage through the Rhenish Uplands it narrows to 250m/275yd at the Binger Loch (Bingen Hole) and 90-150m/100-165yd at the Loreley Rock. At Cologne it widens again to around 350m/380yd.

The river tends to wander a little and form islands (called "Aue" above Bingen and "Werthe" below) which add variety to the scenery.

Navigation

Navigation presents the greatest difficulty between Bingen and St Goar on account of the considerable gradient and the narrowness of the channel. The river authorities devote much effort to maintaining the navigability of the river by dredging and the blasting away of dangerous rock faces. The artificially created shipping channel is marked by buoys, beacons and floating booms, and at points where visibility is restricted the traffic upstream and downstream is regulated by warning signs (lights, flags, balls, revolving signs). Navigation on the Rhine, which within German territory is subject to the authority of the Federal Minister of Transport, was internationalized in 1831.

Roads

On both banks of the Middle Rhine there are railroads and roads (on the left bank B 9, the Rheingoldstrasse; on the right bank B 42, the Loreley-Burgenstrasse), which carry heavy traffic.