The Rappbode is a right-hand, southwestern tributary of the

River Bode The Bode is a river in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, a left tributary of the Saale. It rises in the Harz mountains and drains them in a northerly direction. After it discharges into the Saale at Nienburg. The river is named after a legend ...

in the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German w ...

mountains in the German state of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

. In its lower reaches it is impounded by the

Rappbode Dam The Rappbode Dam (german: Rappbode-Talsperre) is the largest dam in the Harz region as well as the highest dam in Germany. Together with several other dams and retention basins, it forms the flood protection system for the eastern Harz. The ind ...

, the largest dam in the Harz. The Rappbode rises east of the B 4 federal road near the ''Jägerfleck'' at the junction of the three federal states of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

and

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

. Its source is about southwest of

Benneckenstein Benneckenstein () is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it has been part of the town of Oberharz am Brocken. Benneckenstein is in the eastern Harz, 14 km southeast of Braunlage, and 24 km ...

and southeast of

Hohegeiß Hohegeiss (german: Hohegeiß) is a health resort and winter sports village in the Harz mountains range in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 July 1972 Hohegeiss has been part of the town of Braunlage, in the district of Goslar. Geography Hohegei ...

at an elevation of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. On the opposite side of the B 4 there are numerous source streams of the river Zorge. The Rappbode flows in a mainly northeastern direction through the villages of Benneckenstein and

Trautenstein Trautenstein is a village in the borough of Oberharz am Brocken in the district of Harz in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Trautenstein has 493 inhabitants . Formerly an independent municipality, it was merged into the town Hasselfelde in 2002, ...

, before it enters the

Rappbode Auxiliary Dam The Rappbode Auxiliary Dam (german: Rappbodevorsperre) is one of the two pre-dam, auxiliary dams in the Rappbode Dam system. This is the heart of the Rappbode Dam system in the East Harz, which is operated by the Saxony-Anhalt Dam Company (''Talsp ...

and, shortly thereafter, the Rappbode Dam itself. It is united with the Bode further downstream at the

Wendefurth Dam The Wendefurth Dam (german: Talsperre Wendefurth) near Wendefurth in the Harz is one of the dams downstream of the Rappbode Dam, that provides flood protection as well as impounding the River Bode to provide the lower reservoir for the Wendefu ...

downstream.

See also