A central European river flowing from the Czech mountains through Dresden and Hamburg to the North Sea.
Length
1,094 km
Source
Giant Mountains, Czech Republic
Mouth
North Sea (Cuxhaven)
Continent
Europe
Countries
Czech Republic & Germany
Did you know?
The dramatic sandstone cliffs of 'Saxon Switzerland' along the Elbe inspired Romantic painters like Caspar David Friedrich.
Little-known fact
Hamburg, far inland on the Elbe, is one of the largest ports in Europe thanks to the river's deep tidal channel.
Highlights
- Flows through Dresden and Hamburg
- Carved the cliffs of Saxon Switzerland
- Feeds a great inland seaport
Life in the Elbe
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Animals & fish
Atlantic salmon
The “king of fish” — it is born in a river, grows at sea, then fights its way back upstream to spawn where it hatched.
Wels catfish
A monstrous European catfish that can top 2.5 m and has learned to beach itself to catch pigeons.
Eurasian otter
A sleek, playful hunter whose return to a river is a sign the water has run clean again.
Waterbirds
Common kingfisher
A dazzling blue-and-orange dart that plunges from a perch to spear fish in an instant.
Mute swan
The great white swan of European waters, gliding in pairs that often mate for life.
Mallard
The familiar green-headed dabbling duck — ancestor of most domestic ducks — found on waters worldwide.
Interactive · 3D journey
Journey of a river · source → sea
Every river runs the same great journey — from an icy mountain spring, down through gorges and looping meanders, to a wide delta where it meets the sea. Tap a stage to follow the water downstream.
Tip: hover to tilt the valley · tap a stage to float downstream
The Source
Every river begins high up — in a mountain spring, a melting glacier or a boggy upland. The water is cold, clear and fast, tumbling down the steepest ground of its whole journey.
Landforms here