Ruhr (river)

__notoc__The Ruhr is a river in western Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia), a right tributary (east-side) of the Rhine.Description and historyThe source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet (670 m). It flows into the lower Rhine at an elevation of only 56 feet (17 m) in the municipal area of Duisburg. Its total length is 218km, its average discharge is 79 m³/s (cubic metres per second) at Mülheim near its mouth. Thus, its discharge is, for example, comparable to that of the river Ems in Northern Germany or the River Thames in the United Kingdom.The Ruhr first passes the towns of Meschede, Arnsberg, Wickede, Fröndenberg, Holzwickede, Iserlohn and Schwerte. Then the river marks the southern limit of the Ruhr area, passing Hagen, Dortmund, Herdecke, Wetter, Witten, Bochum, Hattingen, Essen, Mülheim and Duisburg.