The Seille (; ) 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 ...

in north-eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is a right tributary of the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

. It is also known as the ''Seille lorraine'' or the ''Grande Seille'' ("large Seille"), to distinguish it from another Seille, a small

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

Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...

. It originates near Azoudange, in the department of

. Leaving the Lindre lake, it skirts the town of Dieuze, and traverses Vic-sur-Seille and Nomeny, before flowing into the Moselle at

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. It is 138 km long, and has a basin area of 1348 km². Most of its length is in the department of Moselle, except for the part between Aulnois-sur-Seille and Cheminot, which is in

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a '' département'' in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. Its prefecture and largest city is Nancy and it borders the departments of Meuse to the west, Vosges to the south, ...

. The Seille also forms the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

between Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle from Chambrey to Aulnois-sur-Seille.

Upstream

Originating in the Pond region, the Seille then crosses the Saulnois, a region in the south of Moselle. This section of the river is part of the ''Parc naturel régional de Lorraine'' ("Regional Natural Park of Lorraine"). The river then flows into a large valley, the ground of which is composed mainly of marl and

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

. Since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, there has been much work performed on the Seille, in part to straighten it (to render it navigable), to drain the nearby

swamps A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

, and to limit

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing of adjacent low-lying areas. Its linear course and the treelessness of its banks makes it of little interest to the landscape, and today the erosion of its banks poses problems. Despite this, the valley is of biological interest: salt water resurgences have led to the presence of various plant species that are usually confined to

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

lines, including glasswort, '' aster tripolium'', and sea-spurreys. , work is being done on the river: the banks of the river are being reforested, and an oxygenation system is being installed. The Seille has a number of

tributaries 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 the ...

, the most important of which are: * the ''Spin'' and the ''Verbach'', in Dieuze (right bank) * the ''ruisseau de Videlange'' (lit. "brook of Videlange"), near Mulcey (right bank) * the ''Nard'', in Marsal (left bank) * the ''Petite Seille'' (lit. "Small Seille"), in Salonnes (right bank) * the ''Loutre Noire'' (lit. "Black Otter"), in Moncel-sur-Seille (left bank)

Downstream

Downstream, the Seille is much less straight, following a contorted path along the border of the department of Moselle. This section of the river has comparatively few tributaries: * the ''Osson'', at Ajoncourt * the ''ruisseau Saint-Jean'' (lit. "St. John brook"), in Létricourt (right bank) * the ''ruisseau Saint-Pierre'' (lit. "St. Peter brook") Finally, in

, after passing the ''Porte des Allemands'' (a 13th-century castle, lit. "Gate of the Germans"), it flows into the right bank of the Moselle.

Flora and fauna

The river is classified as "Category II" (categories are based on types of fish), and is the habitat for a very large variety of fish. It is also home to a variety of other animals, such as

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

s, and

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s. The Seille suffers from

eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

Toponymy

Numerous towns and villages incorporate the name of the river. Some examples include: Aboncourt-sur-Seille, Aulnois-sur-Seille, Bey-sur-Seille, Brin-sur-Seille, Coin-sur-Seille, Haraucourt-sur-Seille, Mailly-sur-Seille, Malaucourt-sur-Seille, Moncel-sur-Seille, Morville-sur-Seille, Port-sur-Seille, and Vic-sur-Seille. The suffix "''sur-Seille''" means "on the Seille" in French, and the practice is analogous to the English place names that incorporate river names, such as Newcastle upon Tyne.

References

External links

Photos and History of the Seille
*https://web.archive.org/web/20110131075945/http://seillevalley.com/ {{Authority control Rivers of France Rivers of Grand Est Rivers of Moselle (department)