The Nete (; , ) 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 northern

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, right tributary of the

Rupel The Rupel () is a tidal river in northern Belgium, right tributary of the Scheldt. It is about long. It flows through the Belgian province of Antwerp. It is formed by the confluence of the rivers Dijle and Nete, in Rumst. It flows into the Sch ...

. It flows through the Belgian province of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. It is formed in Lier, at the confluence of the rivers Grote Nete and Kleine Nete. It flows through

Duffel Duffel () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises the town of Duffel proper. On 1 January 2020, Duffel had a total population of 17,664. The total ar ...

and joins the river Dijle in

Rumst Rumst (, old spelling: ''Rumpst'') is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. Since 1976 the municipality not only comprises Rumst proper but also the towns of (old spell ...

to form the river Rupel. It drains nearly 60% of Antwerp province.

Grote Nete

The Grote Nete ''(Big Nete)'' river is about 85 km longIngrid Baten & Willy Huybrechts
De historische bedding van de bevaarbare Nete
2002, page 7 and has its source near Hechtel in the Belgian province of Limburg. It flows in a western direction along the towns

Geel Geel () is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Furthe ...

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...

and

Heist-op-den-Berg Heist-op-den-Berg () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Heist-op-den-Berg proper (including the hamlets: Heist-Goor, Heist-Station, Zonderschot, Heist-Centrum and Bruggeneinde), the villages o ...

before joining the Kleine Nete in Lier. Its main tributaries are the near Geel, the near Westerlo, and the near Herenthout.

Kleine Nete

The Kleine Nete ''(Small Nete)'' river is about 50 km long and has its source near

Retie Retie (; , ) is a municipality located in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Belgium. The municipality comprises the town of Retie proper and several hamlets of which Schoonbroek is the largest. In 2021, Retie had a ...

in the Belgian province of

. North of the Grote Nete flows in south-western direction along the towns

Herentals Herentals () is a municipality and city in the province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and Noorderwijk. In 2022, Herentals had a total population of 28,455. The total area is . Saint ...

and Nijlen before joining the Grote Nete in Lier. Tributaries, all coming from the North, include the near

Kasterlee Kasterlee () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Kasterlee proper, Lichtaart and Tielen. In 2021, Kasterlee had a total population of 19,052. The total area is 71.56 km2. T ...

, the near Grobbendonk, and the near Nijlen.

History

During the French occupation of the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the ...

(1792–1815) there was a ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' named after the river Nete, see Deux-Nèthes.

Natural landscapes

In the valley of the Grote Nete lies the Scheps

natural landscape A natural landscape is the original landscape that exists before it is acted upon by human culture. The natural landscape and the cultural landscape are separate parts of the landscape. However, in the 21st century, landscapes that are totally ...

, between

Olmen Olmen is a village in the province of Antwerp, Belgium. The village is part of the municipality of Balen. Olmen is known in the area for its Carnival, which still follows medieval traditions. History The village was first mentioned as Olmele in 1 ...

and Scheps.

References

Rivers of Belgium Rivers of Antwerp Province {{Belgium-river-stub