The Scheldt
It’s a western European river that flows through France, Belgium (Henegavia, West Flanders, East Flanders, Antwerp) and the Netherlands (Zeeland, North Brabant). It’s 350 km long and has a catchment area of approximately 22 000 km².
It rises near the village of Gouy in the French department of Aisne at an altitude of 97 m. It flows through the cities of Cambrai, Valenciennes (France), Tournai, Ghent and Antwerp (Belgium). Beyond Antwerp, the river originally branched into the Oosterschelde in the north and the Westerschelde in the south. A secer arm separated the Graz in 1867. The dyke connects the island of Zuid-Beveland (part of the Dutch province of Zeeland) and North Brabant. Since then, the river has only continued along its southern arm and empties into the North Sea via an estuary at the Dutch town of Vlissingen. The most important tributaries are the Scarpe, the Leie, the Dender, the Durme and the Rupel.
The Scheldt has a low gradient and therefore flows slowly. For this reason, the river and some of its tributaries show sea spray. And up to 160 km from the mouth to the city of Ghent. At high tide, which reaches 3.8 m at the mouth, seawater intrusion occurs. The water in the river near the estuary is therefore salty and its salinity decreases away from the estuary. In the delta, the arms are surrounded by dykes which protect the surrounding countryside from flooding. Most water flows through the river in winter. The average flow is approximately 100 m³/s.
The Scheldt has always been of great economic and strategic importance. It has long served as a border between France and the Holy Roman Empire and it gives the Belgian port of Antwerp access to the sea. A large part of the river (approximately 140 km long) has been canalised and water transport is possible to the town of Cambrai in France. Antwerp can be accessed by sea-going vessels. The river is connected by a system of canals with the Seine, Somme, and Meuse rivers.
