Main

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For other uses, see Main (disambiguation).

Main
The Main in Würzburg.
Origin	Upper Franconia
Mouth	Rhine
Basin countries	Germany
Length	529 km
Avg. discharge	±200 m³/s
Basin area	27,292 km²

Map showing the position of the Main in Germany

The Main (pronounced in German like the English word mine) is a river in Germany, 524 km long (including White Main 574 km), and one of the more significant tributaries of the Rhine river. It flows through the German states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg (forming the border to Bavaria for some miles) and Hesse. Its catchment basin competes with the Danube for water; as a result, much of its boundaries are identical with those of the European Watershed.

The Main is formed near Kulmbach by the joining of its two headstreams, the Red Main and the White Main. The former rises from the Frankish Alb, 50 km in length, and runs through Creussen and Bayreuth. The latter's source is located in the mountains of the Fichtelgebirge; it is 41 km long. Major tributaries of the Main are the Regnitz, the Fränkische Saale, the Tauber, and the Nidda River.

The largest city along the Main is Frankfurt am Main (ford of the Franks). After the junction of its headstreams, the Main passes the following towns and cities: Burgkunstadt, Lichtenfels, Staffelstein, Eltmann, Haßfurt, Schweinfurt, Volkach, Kitzingen, Marktbreit, Ochsenfurt, Würzburg, Karlstadt, Gemünden, Lohr, Marktheidenfeld, Wertheim am Main, Miltenberg, Obernburg, Aschaffenburg, Seligenstadt, Hanau, Offenbach, Frankfurt, Hattersheim, Flörsheim, Rüsselsheim. By the time it flows into the Rhine opposite Mainz, at a district of Wiesbaden (Mainz-Kostheim), it is a formidable river.

[edit] Navigation

Shipping on the Main, Frankfurt

The Main is navigable for river shipping from its mouth at the Rhine, via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and the highly regulated Altmühl river, all the way to the Danube. The river has been canalized with 34 large locks (300 m x 12 m) to allow vessels of so-called CEMT class V (110 m x 11.45 m) to navigate the total length of the river. The 16 locks in the adjacent Rhine-Main-Danube Canal are of the same dimensions, as are the locks on the Danube.

The river's mouth is 1000 kilometers away from the junction with the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. The winding course is the main reason for this considerable length; if the river was straight, it would be probably less than half its current length. Because the river is rather narrow for much of the upstream stretches, navigation with the larger vessels and push convoys that navigate it, requires great skills.

The river has gained enormous importance as a vital part of European "Corridor VII", the inland waterway link from the North Sea to the Black Sea [1].