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Berkel

River in Germany

Berkel
The Berkel near Eibergen
Location
Countries	Germany and Netherlands
Physical characteristics

Source
• location	Westphalia

Mouth
• location	IJssel
• coordinates	52°8′25″N 6°11′28″E / 52.14028°N 6.19111°E / 52.14028; 6.19111
Length	114.6 km (71.2 mi) ^[1]
Basin size	849 km² (328 sq mi) ^[1]
Basin features
Progression	IJssel→ IJsselmeer

The Berkel (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛʁkl̩] ^ⓘ) is a river in the Netherlands and Germany. It is a right tributary of the IJssel.

The river rises in Billerbeck, near the German city of Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia, and crosses the border with the Netherlands near Vreden (Germany) and Rekken (Netherlands). From there, it flows through the province of Gelderland to join the IJssel at Zutphen after about 115 kilometres.

Before the coming of the railway, the Berkel was a major shipping route for goods from Münster to Eibergen, Borculo, and Zutphen, transported in flat-bottomed boats called Berkelzompen. In the 1950s, the Dutch stretch of the river was channelized to prevent flooding and to improve drainage. Recently old bends have been reconnected to the straightened lengths of the river.

Towns along the course of the Berkel include:

in Germany: Billerbeck, Coesfeld, Gescher, Stadtlohn, Vreden
in the Netherlands: Eibergen, Borculo, Lochem, Almen, Warnsveld, Zutphen

Gallery

Berkel between Coesfeld and Gescher
Berkel in Berkelland
Berkel in Eibergen
Berkel in Almen

References

^ ^a ^b Hydrographic Directory of the NRW State Office for Nature, the Environment and Consumer Protection (Gewässerverzeichnis des Landesamtes für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz NRW 2010) (xls; 4.67 MB)