The IJssel is a river in the Netherlands in the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. It is the right arm of the lower Rhine. It´s 123 km long. It separates from the Rhine near the city of Arnhem. The river has flood defences. It flows into the man-made lake IJsselmeer, which was formerly the southern part of the Zuiderzee Bay. The average flow of the IJssel is approximately 280 m³/s and the maximum 2000 m³/s. It reaches its highest water levels in winter, when the water level can rise by 4 to 7 m. Water transport is possible along the entire length of the river. It is connected by a network of canals to the northern and eastern parts of the country. The towns of Deventer and Zwolle lie in the river valley.
Sector and course of the IJssel
The course of the IJssel from the separation from the Nederrijn to the IJsselmeer Ketelmeer Bay, with the high Veluwe area in the middle.
Southeast of Arnhem, less than 13 river kilometres below the German section of the Rhine, the Pannerden Canal, which has already separated from the main course (Boven Rijn, Waal), forks into the Nederrijn, which flows to the left (west) and is at least 90 metres wide, and the IJssel, which is at least 70 metres wide and immediately turns sharply to the east.
After 19 river kilometres, the IJssel joins the Issel at Doesburg as its first major tributary. Which flows in from the right (east) and is its former source. Which in the Netherlands is called the Oude IJssel. All other major tributaries, such as the Berkel at Zutphen and the Schipbeek at Deventer, also flow from the right. The river is flanked on the left by the moraine hills of the Veluwe, which were formed during the ice age in the Saale, with forested slopes up to 90 metres high. The border between the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel follows it in places.
Shortly before Zwolle, the IJssel turns north-west and flows into the Ketelmeer, the bay of the largest freshwater lake in the Netherlands, the IJsselmeer, at Kampen. In Zwolle, the Zwolle-IJsselkanaal road turns right towards the Zwarte Water. The Vechte, which rises in the Münsterland area, also flows into the Ketelmeer and continues to bear the same name after flowing into the Zwarte Water. The actual estuary of the IJssel into the open sea is via the tidal bays of Den Oever (Stevinsluizen) and Kornwerderzand (Lorentzsluizen).
