The Peene (; ) 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 ...

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 ...

Geography

The Westpeene, with the Ostpeene as its longer tributary, and the Kleine Peene/Teterower Peene (with a ''Peene '' without specification (or ''Nordpeene'') as its smaller and shorter affluent) flows into

Kummerower See Lake Kummerow''A Guide to Eastern Germany''
by James Bentley, 1993. Retrieved 1 ...

(Lake Kummerow), and from there as Peene proper to

Anklam Anklam (), formerly known as Tanglim and Wendenburg, is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the , the western ...

and into the

Oder Lagoon Szczecin Lagoon (, ), also known as Oder Lagoon (), and Pomeranian Lagoon (), is a lagoon in the Oder estuary, shared by Germany and Poland. It is separated from the Pomeranian Bay of the Baltic Sea by the islands of Usedom and Wolin. The lagoo ...

. The western branch of the

Oder River The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through west ...

, which separates the island of

Usedom Usedom ( , ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It lies north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the ...

from the German mainland, is often also called Peene, but actually is considered a part of the Baltic Sea called the

Peenestrom The Peenestrom is a strait in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, which separates the mainland from the island of Usedom. It is long and is the westernmost connection between the Szczecin Lagoon and the Baltic Sea (together with the Świna and D ...

. It is one of three channels connecting the Oder Lagoon with the

Bay of Pomerania The Bay of Pomerania ( ; ; ) is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the Pomeranian shores of Poland and Germany. It stretches between the northernmost tip of the island of Rügen called ''Gellort'' northwest of Cape Arkona in the wes ...

of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. (The other two are the

Świna The Świna (; Pomeranian: ''Swina'') is a channel in northwest Poland, between from the German border. It connects the Szczecin Lagoon with the Baltic Sea separating the islands of Uznam (German: Usedom) and Wolin. It is a part of the Oder estu ...

and the

Dziwna The Dziwna () is a channel of the Oder River in northwestern Poland, one of three straits connecting the Szczecin Lagoon with the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea. It separates the island of Wolin from the Polish mainland. The other two ch ...

.) Ostpeene-30-04-2008-263.jpg, Ostpeene Teterow-stadtmuehle.jpg, Old watermill on Kleine Peene in

Teterow Teterow () is a town of Germany, in the Rostock (district), district of Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It is the geographical center of this federal state. It had a population of 8,852 in 2011. History The ''Stadtkirche St. Peter u ...

Peene-in-Demmin-26-VIII-2007-07.jpg, Peene harbour in

Demmin Demmin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in north-eastern Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Demmin. Geography Demmin lies on the West Pomeranian plain at the confluen ...

Peene bei Loitz.JPG, Peene river near

Loitz Loitz () is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the river Peene, 10 km northeast of Demmin, and 22 km southwest of Greifswald. Notable people * Erich Gülzow (18 ...

Peene bei Jarmen.jpg, Peene river near

Jarmen Jarmen () is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the southern bank of the river Peene, 20 km south of Greifswald, in the historic region of Pomerania. Founded during the ...

Anklam Peene Fussgängerbrücke.JPG, Peene river in

Peenestrom Wolgast.jpg, Peenestrom strait with

Wolgast Wolgast () is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast that can be accessed ...

Wolgast -Der alte Speicher im Hafen- 2000 by-RaBoe.jpg, Peenestrom harbour in

Hydrography

The Peene river itself has some properties of an inlet. From

Kummerower See Lake Kummerow''A Guide to Eastern Germany''
by James Bentley, 1993. Retrieved 1 ...

, inclusively, to the mouth, the ground of the water is five feet and more below sea level. The

windkessel effect Windkessel effect (German: Windkesseleffekt) is a term used in medicine to account for the shape of the arterial blood pressure waveform in terms of the interaction between the stroke volume and the compliance of the aorta and large elastic arte ...

of the large surface of this lake allows reverse flows that with northern wind may last as long as a week. These reverse flows do not only occur in times of low discharge of its effluent, but also in times of an overflow of precipitation.

Ecology

The

Peene Valley The Peene Valley () is a landscape in West Pomerania in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It covers the area on either side of the river Peene in the districts of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Vorpommern-Greifswald as the river mak ...

is one of the largest contiguous

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

regions in central Europe. Thanks to its wilderness and intact nature, the river Peene and its valley is sometimes grandiloquently referred to as "the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

of the North". Peene: Paddeln auf dem Amazonas des Nordens
(Spiegel Online) Major towns at the Peene river are

Malchin Malchin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district), Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in north-eastern Germany. History The name of the town is of Slavic origin. It was granted town rights in ...

and

is on

strait.

References

External links

*
www.peenetal-landschaft.de
- Association for natural protection of the Peene river valley (German) {{Authority control Rivers of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Federal waterways in Germany Rivers of Germany