The lower course of the River Rhine

 

In Bonn, where the Sieg flows into the Rhine, the Rhine enters the North German Plain and turns into the Lower Rhine. The Lower Rhine falls from 50 m to 12 m. The main tributaries on this stretch are the Ruhr and theLippe. Like the Upper Rhine, the Lower Rhine used to meander until engineering created a solid river bed. Because the levees are some distance from the river, at high tide the Lower Rhine has more room for widening than the Upper Rhine.

 

Glossary

 

Meander=

a winding curve or bend of a river or road.

 

Levees=

an embankment built to prevent the overflow of a river.

 

Tide=

the alternate rising and falling of the sea, usually twice in each lunar day at a particular place, due to the attraction of the moon and sun.