The Harle (in its upper course: Norder Tief) is a river of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

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 ...

, in the district of Wittmund in

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

. Its entire course is within the borough of

Wittmund Wittmund () is a town and capital of the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Wittmund is a town of 21,000 inhabitants located in Germany's historic coastal district of East Frisia, between the towns of Aurich and Jever. Th ...

and it discharges near Harlesiel through a ''Siel'', a sluice in the dyke, into the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. Near the village of Willen two headstreams ''Nordertief'' and ''Südertief'' join forming the Harle. Both tributaries are streams that originate in

bogland A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muske ...

depressions in the neighbouring borough of

Aurich Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', ) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both in popula ...

. The Harle runs eastwards past the town of Wittmund and then flows in

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...

s in a northerly direction. It passes Carolinensiel and discharges through a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

and a

scoop wheel Rim driven Scoop wheel of the Stretham Old Engine, Cambridgeshire A scoop wheel or scoopwheel is a pump, usually used for land drainage. A scoop wheel pump is similar in construction to a water wheel, but works in the opposite manner: a water ...

into Harlesiel Harbour and from there into the North Sea. The Harle is popular with tourists for rowing and, in the harbours of Carolinensiel and Harlesiel, for boats and ferries. Harlesiel is a ferry port for trips to the island of

Wangerooge Wangerooge (; ; Wangerooge Frisian: ) is one of the 32 Frisian Islands in the North Sea off the northwestern coast of Germany. It is a municipality in the district of Friesland (district), Friesland in Lower Saxony in Germany. The island is also l ...

References

Rivers of Lower Saxony Wittmund (district) Geography of East Frisia 0Harle Rivers of Germany {{LowerSaxony-river-stub

See also

References