IJssel
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Satellite image of the IJssel basin. The Flevoland polders are at top left. |
River IJssel (), sometimes called
Gelderse IJssel (
Gelderlandic IJssel) to avoid confusion with its
Holland counterpart, is a 120 km long branch of the
Rhine in the
Dutch provinces of Gelderland and
Overijssel. It flows north from the
city of
Arnhem until it discharges into the
IJsselmeer ("Lake IJssel", until the
1932 completion of the
Afsluitdijk known as the
Zuiderzee). In medieval times the
estuary of the IJssel was the
Vlie. It is one of the three major
distributary branches into which the
Rhine divides itself shortly after crossing the German-Dutch border, the other two being the
Lower Rhine and
Waal rivers. The name IJssel is thought to derive from the
Germanic i sala, meaning "dark water". The average discharge of the IJssel can change significantly. The average discharge has been stated as 300 cubic meters per second. This can be as low as 140 and as high as 1800 (not sure on this, citations needed).
The IJssel once was the lower part of the
Oude IJssel ("Old IJssel", German
Issel, literate German translation "Alte Issel"), a small river that rises in Germany and is now a 70 km long tributary of the IJssel, merging with the main IJssel at
Doesburg. The connection between the Rhine and the IJssel was probably artificial, being dug by men under the
Roman general Nero Claudius Drusus as a defence against
Germanic tribes and to let Roman shipcarry troops along it. The current Oude IJssel has been, after the Rhine, the main contributor of the flow of the river until today. The source of the Oude IJssel is near Borken in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. First it flows south-west until it nearly reaches the Rhine near Wesel, then it turns north-west. After Isselburg it crosses the border with the Netherlands (province Gelderland). It flows through Doetinchem and joins the IJssel in Doesburg.
From the moment the connection between the Rhine and IJssel was dug, the Rhine became the largest contributor to the flow of the IJssel, although only a relative low amount of the total Rhine flow is making its way into the IJssel system. Various tributaries can sometimes add quite some water to the total flow of the IJssel river, fore example the
Berkel and the
Schipbeek. The IJssel river is the only branch of the Rhine Delta that is taking up tributary rivers rather than giving rise to distributary ones.
The latter only happens at the very last stretches of the river, where the relatively minor IJssel Delta is created. Most of the Delta branches has been dammed up to lower the risk of major floods. Several of the delta creeks are, however, still connected without interruption. Of course this is a severe contrast with times long gone, the times before the
Zuiderzee with high tides was converted to the shallow, fresh and tide-less waters of the
IJsselmeer, severely diminishing the reach and potential build-up of the delta.
This all suggests that the IJssel is more or less a river in its own right. Although it's been fed by the Rhine, it still contains a lot of its own character as being a river that, although distributing a part of the Rhine outflow, still manages to be a river system that is retaining its distinct character. A river that is perfectly able to function on at its own, even without the inflow of Rhine water.
The following
canals and
tributary streams connect to the IJssel:
*
Apeldoorns Kanaal (west) near the
town of
Dieren* river
Oude IJssel (east) at the
city of
Doesburg* the
Berkel stream (east) at the city of
Zutphen* the
Twentekanaal (east) between Zutphen and the village of
Eefde (
municipality of
Gorssel)
* the
Schipbeek stream (east) near the city of
Deventer* the
Grift stream (west) at the town of
Hattem; its lower reaches have been
channelised to form the mouth of the
Griftkanaal* the
Willemsvaart canal (east) at the city of
Zwolle* the
Zwolle-IJsselkanaal (east) near Zwolle
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The IJssel delta (click on image to read legend). |
Near the city of
Kampen, the river IJssel flows into the IJsselmeer through a small
delta, the branches of which are called, west to east,
Keteldiep,
Kattendiep,
Noorddiep,
Ganzendiep and
Goot. Of these, the Keteldiep and Kattendiep channels are the main navigational arteries; the Noorddiep has been closed off at both sides.
The Delta is partially shared with the river
Vecht, which flow as the
Zwarte Water (Black Water) into the
Zwarte Meer. This lake could should probably be included in the IJssel Delta.
Railroad bridges (with nearest train station on the left and right bank):
*between
Arnhem Velperpoort and
Duiven*between
Brummen/
Klarenbeek and
Zutphen*between
Apeldoorn and
Deventer*between
Wezep and
Zwolle*
Hollandse IJssel
