Читать книгу The Rhine Cycle Route. From source to sea through Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands онлайн

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After reaching the Netherlands, the Rhine divides into different channels to reach the sea. The route described in this guide crosses the Waal, then follows the Neder Rijn past Arnhem and below the wooded sandy ridge of Utrechtse Heuvelrug national park. After Amerongen the route is along the top of Lekdijk, the main flood dyke of the river Lek, with the surrounding land below sea level. The Lek is followed through Wijk bij Duurstede and Schoonhoven to reach Rotterdam, Holland’s second city. It then follows the Nieuwe Mass river past the huge industrial complex of Europoort to end at the North Sea ferry port of Hoek van Holland, near the river mouth.

The cycle track past the Kinderdijk windmills is very popular (Stage 26)

Natural environment

Physical geography

Two major geomorphic events shaped the Rhine basin. The Alps were formed approximately 30 million years ago, pushed up by the collision of the African and European tectonic plates. This caused rippling of the landmass to the north, creating successive ridges that form the limestone Jura (northern Switzerland) and combined Vosges (France)/Black Forest (Germany). Further north, pre-existing harder slate mountains (Hunsrück and Taunus) and volcanic remnants (Eifel, Siebengebirge and Westerwald) were raised further. The Rhine, flowing north from the Alps, was forced west by the barrier of the Black Forest, then turned north, cutting a wide valley between Vosges and the Black Forest (from modern-day Basel to Karlsruhe). Flowing slowly across the basin between the ridges (Karlsruhe to Mainz), the river deposited much of its sediment, creating an extensive flood plain. Upon reaching the Taunus, it turned west then north again, cutting a narrow gorge through the older, harder rocks between Taunus and Hunsrück (forming the Rhine Gorge from Bingen to Koblenz). Emerging from the mountains, the Rhine flows out onto the North German plain.