The
Seille is a
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
in the
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
régionFrance is administratively divided into 25 regions , of which 21 are on mainland France, and four are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
of
LorraineLorraine is one of the 26 régions of France. It is the only administrative region with two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
, right tributary of the
Moselle RiverThe Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining it at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....
. It is also known as the
Seille lorraine or the
Grande Seille ("large Seille"), to distinguish it from another
SeilleThe Seille is a river originating in the Jura mountains in France. It is a left tributary of the Saône, joining it in the commune of La Truchère, in Saône-et-Loire. It is 100 km long....
, a small
tributaryA tributary is a stream or river which flows into a main stem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body...
of the
SaôneThe Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon....
.
It originates near
Azoudange Azoudange is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
, in the
départementIn the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies, a department is an administrative division roughly analogous to an English district or a Scottish region. The 100 French departments are now grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas...
of
MoselleMoselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
. Leaving the Lindre lake, it skirts the town of
DieuzeDieuze is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-People:Dieuze was the birthplace of:*Charles Hermite, mathematician*Edmond François Valentin About, novelist, publicist and journalist*Émile Friant, painter...
, and traverses
Vic-sur-SeilleVic-sur-Seille is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Moselle department...
and
Nomeny Nomeny is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France....
, before flowing into the
MoselleThe Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining it at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....
at
MetzMetz is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. It is located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers....
.
The
Seille is a
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
in the
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
régionFrance is administratively divided into 25 regions , of which 21 are on mainland France, and four are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
of
LorraineLorraine is one of the 26 régions of France. It is the only administrative region with two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
, right tributary of the
Moselle RiverThe Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining it at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....
. It is also known as the
Seille lorraine or the
Grande Seille ("large Seille"), to distinguish it from another
SeilleThe Seille is a river originating in the Jura mountains in France. It is a left tributary of the Saône, joining it in the commune of La Truchère, in Saône-et-Loire. It is 100 km long....
, a small
tributaryA tributary is a stream or river which flows into a main stem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body...
of the
SaôneThe Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon....
.
It originates near
Azoudange Azoudange is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
, in the
départementIn the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies, a department is an administrative division roughly analogous to an English district or a Scottish region. The 100 French departments are now grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas...
of
MoselleMoselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
. Leaving the Lindre lake, it skirts the town of
DieuzeDieuze is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-People:Dieuze was the birthplace of:*Charles Hermite, mathematician*Edmond François Valentin About, novelist, publicist and journalist*Émile Friant, painter...
, and traverses
Vic-sur-SeilleVic-sur-Seille is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Moselle department...
and
Nomeny Nomeny is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France....
, before flowing into the
MoselleThe Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining it at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....
at
MetzMetz is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. It is located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers....
. It is 135 km long, and has a basin area of 1348 km². Most of its length is in the département of Moselle, except for the part between
Aulnois-sur-Seille Aulnois-sur-Seille is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Moselle department...
and
CheminotCheminot is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
, which is in
Meurthe-et-MoselleMeurthe-et-Moselle is a department in the Lorraine region of France, named after the Meurthe and Moselle rivers.- History :Meurthe-et-Moselle was created in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War from the parts of the former departments of Moselle and Meurthe which remained French...
. The Seille also serves as the
borderBorders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, states or subnational administrative divisions. They may foster the setting up of buffer zones...
between Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle from
Chambrey Chambrey is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
to Aulnois-sur-Seille.
Upstream
Originating in the Pond region, the Seille then crosses Saulnois, a region in the South of Moselle. This section of the river is part of the
Parc naturel régional de Lorraine ("Regional Natural Park of Lorraine"). The river then flows into a large valley, the ground of which is composed mainly of
marlMarl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
and
clayClay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried and/or fired...
. Since the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, there has been much work performed on the Seille, in part to straighten it (to render it navigable), to drain the nearby swamps, and to limit
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
ing of adjacent low-lying areas.
Its linear course and the treelessness of its banks makes it of little interest to the landscape, and today the erosion of its banks poses problems. Despite this, the valley is of
biologicalBiology is the natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy...
interest:
salt waterSeawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5%. This means that every of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts...
resurgences have led to the presence of various
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants,...
species that are usually confined to
coastThe coast is defined as where the land meets the sea. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
lines, including
glasswortSalicornia is a genus of succulent, halophyte plants that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. Salicornia species are native to North America, Europe, South Africa and South Asia...
,
aster tripoliumAster tripolium is a plant of northern Europe which is confined in its distribution to saltmarshes, estuaries and occasionally to inland salt works....
, and
sea-spurreysSpergularia is a genus of the Caryophyllaceae family, containing the sea-spurreys.-Species:*Spergularia bocconi Graebn.*Spergularia catalaunica Monnier*Spergularia diandra Boiss....
.
, work is being done on the river: the banks of the river are being
reforestedReforestation is the restocking of existing forests and woodlands which have been depleted.Leaves from trees emit oxygen as well as absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants from our atmosphere. The demand of reforestation is increasing both for quality of human life reasons, biosphere support...
, and an
oxygenationOxygenation may refer too:* Oxygenation , the process by which concentrations of oxygen increase within a tissue* Water oxygenation, the process of increasing the oxygen saturation of the water...
system is being installed.
The Seille has a number of
tributariesA tributary is a stream or river which flows into a main stem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body...
, the most important of which are:
- the Spin and the Verbach, in Dieuze (right bank)
- the ruisseau de Videlange (lit. "brook of Videlange"), near Mulcey (right bank)
- the Nard, in Marsal (left bank)
- the Petite Seille (lit. "Small Seille"), in Salonnes (right bank)
- the Loutre Noire (lit. "Black Otter"), in Moncel-sur-Seille (left bank)
Downstream
Downstream, the Seille is much less straight, following a contorted path along the border of the
départementIn the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies, a department is an administrative division roughly analogous to an English district or a Scottish region. The 100 French departments are now grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas...
of
MoselleMoselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
.
This section of the river has comparatively few tributaries:
- the Osson, at Ajoncourt
- the ruisseau Saint-Jean (lit. "St. John brook"), in Létricourt (right bank)
- the ruisseau Saint-Pierre (lit. "St. Peter brook")
Finally, in
MetzMetz is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. It is located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers....
, after passing the
Porte des Allemands (a 13
th century castle, lit. "Gate of the Germans"), it flows into the right bank of the
Moselle RiverThe Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining it at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....
.
Flora and Fauna
The river is classified as "Category II" (categories are based on types of fish), and is the habitat for a very large variety of
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
.
It is also home to a variety of other animals, such as
otterOtters are semi-aquatic fish-eating mammals. The otter subfamily Lutrinae forms part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, polecats, badgers, as well as others. With thirteen species in seven genera, otters have an almost worldwide distribution...
s,
heronThe herons are wading birds in the Ardeidae family. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called egrets or bitterns instead of herons....
s, and
caterpillarCaterpillars are the larval form of a member of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly phytophagous in food habit, with some species being entomophagous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered pests in agriculture...
s.
The Seille suffers from
eutrophicationEutrophication is an increase in the concentration of chemical nutrients in an ecosystem to an extent that increases in the primary productivity of the ecosystem...
.
ToponymyToponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The first part of the word is derived from the Greek tópos , place; followed by ónoma , meaning name. It is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
Numerous towns and villages incorporate the name of the river into theirs. Some examples include: Aboncourt-sur-Seille, Aulnois-sur-Seille, Bey-sur-Seille, Brin-sur-Seille, Coin-sur-Seille, Haraucourt-sur-Seille, Mailly-sur-Seille, Malaucourt-sur-Seille, Moncel-sur-Seille, Morville-sur-Seille, Port-sur-Seille, and Vic-sur-Seille.
The suffix "
sur-Seille" means "on the Seille" in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
, and the practice is analogous to the English place names that incorporate river names, such as Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
External links