The Glan () 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 ...

in southwestern

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 ...

, right tributary of the Nahe. It is approximately long. It rises in the

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

, northwest of Homburg. It flows generally north, through

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

, and empties into the Nahe near

Odernheim am Glan Odernheim am Glan is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach Districts of ...

, at Staudernheim, across the Nahe from

Bad Sobernheim Bad Sobernheim () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', and is also its seat. It is a state-recognized spa town, and is well known for two fossil discovery sit ...

. Other towns along the Glan are

Altenglan Altenglan is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altenglan. Alte ...

Glan-Münchweiler Glan-Münchweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district ...

Lauterecken Lauterecken () is a town in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the '' Verbandsgemeinde'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein, to which it also belongs. Lauterecken bears the nickname ''Veldenzstadt'', after the comital famil ...

and

Meisenheim Meisenheim () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Meisenheim (Verbandsgemeinde), like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', and is also its seat. Meise ...

Etymology

The Celtic root of the name comes either from ''glann'' (shining) or from ''

glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. The word is Goidelic in origin: ''gleann'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, ''glion'' in Manx. ...

'' (U-shaped valley).

References

Rivers and lakes of Western Palatinate Rivers of Saarland North Palatinate Rivers of Germany {{RhinelandPalatinate-river-stub

Etymology

See also

References