The Perlenbach Valley ( or ''Perlbachtal'') is the valley of the Perlenbach stream in the

Eifel The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...

mountains in the countries of

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The Perlenbach itself is a tributary of the

Rur Rur or RUR may refer to: * Rur (river), a tributary of the Meuse, mostly in Germany * '' R.U.R.'', a 1920 Czech sci-fi play by Karel Čapek * Russian ruble, a currency (pre-1998 ISO 4217 code: RUR) * Ohaw, or rur, a Japanese soup dish * Rur., a ...

. The Perlenbach Valley is host to two outstanding, cultural-historical nature reserves along the state border which have a total area of 398 ha.

Perlenbach

The Perlenbach, in

East Belgium The German-speaking Community (, , DG), also known as East Belgium ( ), is one of the three federal communities of Belgium. The community is composed of nine municipalities in Liège Province, Wallonia, within the Eupen-Malmedy region in Easte ...

called the ''Schwalmbach'', is formed from several headstreams and tributaries, most of which rise on Belgian soil in the Elsenborn Training Area near the twin-villages of Rocherath-Krinkelt, in the municipality of

Büllingen Büllingen (; ) is a municipality of East Belgium, located in the Belgian province of Liège, Wallonia. On January 1, 2006, Büllingen had a total population of 5,385 inhabitants. The total area is 150.49 km2 which gives a population densit ...

Liège Province Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium. Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Dutch province of Limburg, the ...

. There, where it is still called the Schwalmbach, it gathers water from the Rinnsaler Schwalmbach, Krockesbach, Kranbach, Drosbach, Lienbach, Büllingerbach (or Fuhrstbach), the Wolfsbach and the Heisterbach. From its confluence with the Heisterbach, it is known as the Perlenbach. It flows northwards, is impounded by the Perlenbach Dam and discharges into the

in Germany, west of the town of

Monschau Monschau (; , ; ) is a small resort town in the Eifel region of western Germany, located in the Aachen district of North Rhine-Westphalia. Geography The town is located in the hills of the North Eifel, within the Hohes Venn – Eifel Nature ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

. Its waters are mainly used to supply drinking water by means of the reservoir and its associated waterworks.

Perlenbach Dam

In the transition zone from the upper to the lower nature reserve the Perlenbach flows into the Perlenbach Reservoir. Its dam was built from 1953 to 1956 as a rock dam with an external tarmac skin. The reservoir has a maximum capacity of 0.8 million m³. It ensures the

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

of the

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

region.

References

''Wasserwerk Perlenbach – Übersichtsplan Einzugsgebiet''
, auf wasserwerk-perlenbach.de (PDF; 123 KB) Wasserversorgungszweckverbandes Perlenbach
auf wasserwerk-perlenbach.de

Literature

External links

Regions of the Eifel Valleys of North Rhine-Westphalia Geography of Liège Province Büllingen Monschau {{Coord, 50.512062, N, 6.249762, E, type:landmark_region:DE-NW, display=title