The Dahme () is a river that flows through the German states of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It is a left bank

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the River Spree and is approximately long.

Course

The source of the Dahme is near the eponymous town Dahme. The river flows north through the towns of

Märkisch Buchholz Märkisch Buchholz () is a small town in the Dahme-Spreewald district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Dahme (river), Dahme, 20 km northwest of Lübben (Spreewald) and resp. 50 km southeast of Berlin. Overview The to ...

and Prieros. At Märkisch Buchholz the river is joined by the Dahme Flood Relief Canal that diverts water from the upper reaches of the River Spree at Leibsch. At Prieros the Dahme is joined by two tributaries, the Storkower Gewässer on the right bank and the Teupitzer Gewässer on the left bank. Both of these tributaries comprise a chain of linked lakes. North of Prieros the Dahme flows through a number of lakes, including the Dolgenzee, Krüpelsee and Krimnicksee before reaching the city of Königs Wusterhausen. The fjord-like Zernsdorfer Lankensee joins the Krüpelsee as a right-bank tributary. A short section of the Dahme downstream of the Krimnicksee is also called ''Staabe''. At Königs Wusterhausen the River Notte joins as a left-bank tributary. Downstream of Königs Wusterhausen the river is linked to the Möllenzugsee on the right bank, and shortly thereafter by the linked Grosser Zug and Krossinsee on the same bank. The Dahme then flows into the Zeuthener See, which links to the Seddinsee and Langer See at the outer

suburb of Schmöckwitz. The Dahme flows out of the Langer See at its north-western end, shortly before it confluence with the River Spree at Köpenick, a historic town that is now a suburb of Berlin.

Navigation

The Dahme is navigable as far upstream as Märkisch Buchholz, although the reach above Prieros is shallow and generally only used by leisure craft.

Canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

s and similar craft can by-pass a

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

near Märkisch Buchholz and enter the Dahme Flood Relief Canal which is then navigable to its junction with the upper Spree. The Storkower Gewässer is navigable as far as the Scharmützelsee, the Teupitzer Gewässer as far as Teupitzersee. The River Notte is also navigable, as are most of the lakes linked to, or traversed by, the river downstream of Prieros. The Oder-Spree Canal links with the Seddinsee near Schmöckwitz, with the Oder river, at Eisenhüttenstadt, thus providing a navigable connection between Berlin and the Oder, and hence

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The Gosen Canal also links the Sedinsee with the Spree, and thus provides a shorter route to the Müggelsee, Woltersdorf and Rüdersdorf for traffic coming downstream.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dahme (River) Rivers of Brandenburg Rivers of Berlin Federal waterways in Germany Rivers of Germany