Saale
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| The Saale valley near Hof | |
| Location | In Bavaria, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt,  Germany
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| Reference no. | DE: 56 |
| Length | 413 km (257 mi) |
| Source | near Zell im Fichtelgebirge 50°07′14″N 11°49′50″E / 50.12056°N 11.83056°ECoordinates: 50°07′14″N 11°49′50″E / 50.12056°N 11.83056°E |
| Source height | 728 m above sea level (NN) |
| Mouth | near Barby into the Elbe 51°57′17″N 11°54′50″E / 51.95472°N 11.91389°E |
| Mouth height | 49.5 m above sea level (NN) |
| Descent | 678.5 m |
| Basin | Elbe |
| Progression | Elbe → North Sea |
| Catchment | 24,100 km2 (9,300 sq mi) |
| Discharge | Average mid: 115 m3/s (4,100 cu ft/s) |
| Right tributaries | White Elster |
| Left tributaries | Ilm, Unstrut, Bode |
| Cities | Jena, Halle (Saale) |
| Large towns | Hof (Saale), Saalfeld/Saale, Rudolstadt, Naumburg (Saale), Weißenfels, Merseburg, Bernburg (Saale) |
| Ports | Hafen Halle (Saale), Sophienhafen in Halle (Saale) |
| Notable bridges | Saale bridge, Rudolphstein, Old Saale bridge, Jena-Burgau |
| Navigable | From its mouth to Bad Dürrenberg; for Europa ships to Halle-Trotha |
The Saale (German pronunciation: [ˈzaːlə]), also known as the Saxon Saale (German: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (German: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.
The Saale originates on the slope of the Großer Waldstein mountain near Zell in the Fichtelgebirge in Upper Franconia (Bavaria), at an elevation of 728 metres (2,388 ft). It pursues a winding course in a northern direction, and after passing the manufacturing town of Hof, enters Thuringia. It flows amid well-wooded low mountains of the Thuringian Forest until it reaches the valley of Saalfeld. After leaving Saalfeld the Saale reaches Rudolstadt. Here it receives the waters of the Schwarza, in whose valley lies the ruined castle of Schwarzburg, the ancestral seat of the formerly ruling House of Schwarzburg.
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Wikipedia