The Salzwedel Dumme is a left, western tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the River Jeetzel

Jeetzel

The river Jeetzel, which begins in the Altmark under the name Jeetze, flows from Saxony-Anhalt through Lower Saxony, in Germany. From its source near the village of Dönitz, it flows north through Beetzendorf, Salzwedel, Wustrow, Lüchow and Dannenberg, before joining the Elbe in Hitzacker...

 (also: Jeetze) in Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...

 (Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

).

Name

The river name, Dumme, means something like Eichenbach or "oak stream", because Dumme goes back to the Old Slavic

Slavic languages

The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...

 word, dabu, meaning "oak". It is thus unrelated to the German word "dumm", which means "dumb".

Course

The Salzwedel Dumme runs a few kilometres south of the border with the neighbouring state of Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

 in the Altmark

Altmark

The Altmark is a historic region in Germany, comprising the northern third of Saxony-Anhalt. As the initial territory of the Brandenburg margraves, it is sometimes referred to as the "Cradle of Prussia", as by Otto von Bismarck, a native from Schönhausen near Stendal.- Geography :The Altmark is...

 region. It rises near Neuekrug

Neuekrug

Neuekrug is a village and a former municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Diesdorf. The municipality consisted of the three villages Höddelsen, Reddigau and Neuekrug. The Salzwedel Dumme river rises near...

-Höddelsen and passes inter alia the municipality of Dähre

Dähre

Dähre is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. A section of the Salzwedel Dumme river flows through it....

, before discharging into the northward-flowing Jeetzel at Salzwedel

Salzwedel

Salzwedel of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwedel is located on the German Framework Road.-Geography:...

, hence the first part of the name.