Rivers and canals length in Niedersachsen

• Weser: 379 km
• Elbe: 262 km
• Ems: 241 km
• Leine: 241 km
• Aller: 211 km
• Mittelland canal: 195 km
• Dortmund-Ems canal: 147 km
• Elbe-Seiten canal: 115 km

Many of Germany’s rivers flow towards the North West, thereby flowing through the Lower Saxon plains. Innumerable ditches, rivulets, rivers and canals with a total length of 30,000 kilometres criss-cross this water corridor. The most important navigable waterways in this “land of three rivers” are the Elbe, Weser and Ems. But you don’t need a boat to explore this watery landscape – the state’s prettiest cycle routes follow the rivers and canals. The destination is ever the North Sea, among the wadden landscape of which, the waterways unite with the sea. For water travellers, the smaller rivers such as the Oker, Jeetzel and Fuhse are the real insider tips for a canoe tour.

Numerous canals complement the natural network of rivers and allow inland shipping to transport bulk goods. The Mittelland canal is the longest artificial waterway in Germany. It branches off from the Dortmund-Ems canal at Dortmund and runs for 195 kilometres through Niedersachsen before meeting the Elbe at Magdeburg. A further important waterway for inland shipping branches off west of Wolfsburg - the 115 kilometre long Elbe-Seiten canal runs through Uelzen and Luneburg before meeting the Elbe at Artlenburg. The canal allows ships to avoid the variable water levels of the Elbe. The 61 m altitude difference between the Elbe and the Mittelland canal is overcome by means of the second largest shipping hoist in Europe at Luneburg and a chamber lock in Uelzen. The Dortmund-Ems canal connects Dortmund’s canal harbour with the sea port of Ems. Bulk goods are still transported along the 147 kilometres that pass through the Emsland region. Sports boat users from the Ruhr can use to canal to get to the North Sea quickly.

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