Rhine

--> |tag3=nl|name3=Rijn |tag4=yi|name4= |tag5=li|name5=Rien |tag6=mis|name6=Ragn|paren6=omit|postfix6=  (Sutsilvan) |tag7=rm-vallader|name7=Rain |tag8=gsw|name8=Rhi(n) |tag9=mis|name9=Rhing|paren9=omit|postfix9=  (Low Franconian languages)}} | name_other = | name_etymology = Celtic ''Rēnos''

| image = Middle Bridge, Basel, Switzerland.JPG | image_size = 300 | image_caption = The Rhine in Basel, Switzerland | map = Flusssystemkarte Rhein 04.jpg | map_size = 240 | map_caption = Map of the Rhine basin | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = 240 | pushpin_map_caption=

| subdivision_type1 = Countries | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_type2 = Rhine Basin | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = Region | subdivision_name3 = Central and Western Europe | subdivision_type4 = Largest cities | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 =

| length_km = 1230 | length_ref = | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max =

| source1 = Vorderrhein (Sursilvan: ''Rein Anteriur'') | source1_location = Tomasee (), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = | source2 = Hinterrhein (Sursilvan: ''Rein Posteriur'') | source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland | source2_coordinates= | source2_elevation = | source_confluence = Reichenau | source_confluence_location = Tamins, Graubünden, Switzerland | source_confluence_coordinates= | source_confluence_elevation = | mouth = North Sea | mouth_location = Netherlands | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = | basin_size_km2 = 185000 | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 5 | mapframe-height = 250 | mapframe-stroke-width=1.5 }}

The Rhine ; ; ; ; ; , }}, , ; ; , including in Alsatian and Low Alemannic German; ; .}} ( ) is one of the major European rivers. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms the Swiss-Liechtenstein border and partly the Swiss-Austrian and Swiss-German borders. After that the Rhine defines much of the Franco-German border, after which it flows in a mostly northerly direction through the German Rhineland. Finally in Germany, the Rhine turns into a predominantly westerly direction and flows into the Netherlands where it eventually empties into the North Sea. It drains an area of 9,973 km².

Its name derives from the Celtic ''Rēnos''. There are two German states named after the river, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, in addition to several districts (e.g. Rhein-Sieg). The departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin in Alsace (France) are also named after the river. Some adjacent towns are named after it, such as Rheinau, Rheineck, Rheinfelden (CH) and Rheinfelden (D).

The International Commission for the Hydrology of the Rhine Basin (CHR) and EUWID contend that the river could experience a massive decrease in volume, or even dry up completely in case of drought, within the next 30 to 80 years, as a result of the climate crisis.

The Rhine is the second-longest river in Central and Western Europe (after the Danube), at about ,) downstream of Konstanz. Its full length is subject to the definition of the Alpine Rhine. In 2010, there were media reports to the effect that the length of the Rhine had been consistently over-stated in 20th-century encyclopedias, and upon request by journalists, the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat gave a length of .}} with an average discharge of about .

The Rhine and the Danube comprised much of the Roman Empire's northern inland boundary, and the Rhine has been a vital navigable waterway bringing trade and goods deep inland since those days. The various castles and defenses built along it attest to its prominence as a waterway in the Holy Roman Empire. Among the largest and most important cities on the Rhine are Cologne, Rotterdam, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Strasbourg, Arnhem, and Basel. Provided by Wikipedia