The Gera is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The Gera is a right tributary of the

Unstrut The Unstrut ( or ) is a river in Germany and a left tributary of the Saale. The Unstrut originates in northern Thuringia near Dingelstädt (west of Kefferhausen in the Eichsfeld area) and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Ba ...

. It originates in the

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German language, German ) is a mountain range in the southern parts of the Germany, German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorg ...

, west of

Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany. It is the largest town within the Ilm district with a population of 38,600, while the district capital is Arnstadt. Ilmenau is located approximately south of Erfurt and north of Nuremberg w ...

. The Gera is formed in

Plaue Plaue is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Gera, 11 km north of Ilmenau, and 8 km southwest of Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera (riv ...

, by the confluence of the

Wilde Gera Wilde Gera is a river of Thuringia, Germany. At its confluence with the Zahme Gera in Plaue, the Gera is formed. See also *List of rivers of Thuringia A list of rivers of Thuringia, Germany: A *Alster * Apfelstädt * Ascherbach * Aum ...

and the Zahme Gera. It empties into the Unstrut in Straußfurt. The total length of the Gera (including Wilde Gera) is . The largest towns along the Gera are

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera (river), Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially ...

and

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

. The city

Gera Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...

is not situated along the River Gera. Along its way, Gera River splits up and reunites multiple times. Branches of the Gera are: * Converging Tributaries: Wilde Gera, Zahme Gera * Erfurt Area: Flutgraben (constructed after 1873 in order to protect Erfurt from flooding, this was successful), Bergstrom, Breitstrom, Zahme Gera * Between Erfurt and the Unstrut: Gera, Schmale Gera, Mahlgera The original name of Gera River was ''Erphes River'' (Latin for brown, muddy water), which survived in the name of

coming from “ford at Erphes River”.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Thuringia Rivers of Germany