The Kranenbach is an

orographically Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology,'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader disci ...

right-hand

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 Schwalm in the

Lower Rhine Lower Rhine (, ; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bonn in Germany and the North Sea at Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, including the '' Nederrijn'' () within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta; alternat ...

county of

Viersen Viersen (; ) is the capital of the Viersen (district), district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Viersen is situated approximately 8 km north-west of Mönchengladbach, 15 km south-west of Krefeld and 20 km ...

. Its source is in the vicinity of Vennbachhof near Ungerath (in the municipality of Schwalmtal) at a height of around . The stream has a length of just under 9.5 kilometres and empties into the Schwalm by the mill of Borner Mühle at a height of about .. The Kranenbach picks up the waters of the Haversloher Bach (1.5 kilometres long), the Heidweiher Bach (1.5 kilometres long), the Vogelsrather Bach (1.7 kilometres long), the Schageher Bach (1.4 kilometres long) and the Berggraben which has a length of 2.3 kilometres. The Kranenbach was canalized in the years 1925/26. Its care and maintenance is the responsibility of the Schwalmverband, which has its head office in Brüggen.{{cite web , url=http://www.schwalmverband.de/ , title=Home , website=schwalmverband.de

Mills

There are a number of former

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

s on the Kranenbach: * Hausermühle, Schwalmtal,

Waldniel Waldniel is a village, part of the municipality Schwalmtal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schwalmtal in the district Viersen (district), Viersen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has 11,750 inhabitants (December 2020). History The first humans lived ...

* Schierer Mühle, Schier * Pletschmühle, Amern * Hüttermühle, Amern

References

Viersen (district) Rivers of North Rhine-Westphalia Rivers of Germany