The Warche is a river in eastern Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 (province of Liège

Liège (province)

Liège is the easternmost province of Belgium and belongs to the Walloon Region. It is an area of French and German ethnicity. It borders on the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and in Belgium the provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, Walloon Brabant , and those of Flemish Brabant and Limburg . Its...

).

From its source at Losheimergraben on the Belgian-German

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...

 border, it flows roughly west about 50 km, across the south of the Hautes Fagnes region.

It passes through the town of Malmedy

Malmedy

Malmedy is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region, Province of Liège. It belongs to the French Community of Belgium, within which it is French-speaking with facilities for German-speakers. On January 1, 2006 Malmedy had a total population of 11,829...

, and the artificial lakes of Robertville

Lake Robertville

Lake Robertville is an artificial lake near the city of Malmedy in Belgium. The water volume is 8,000,000 m³ and the area is 0,62 km². The lake is located in the High Fens park. The dam on the river Warche was built in 1928....

 and of Bütgenbach

Bütgenbach

Bütgenbach is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Bütgenbach had a total population of 5,574. The total area is 97.31 km² which gives a population density of 57 inhabitants per km². The official language in this municipality is German....

 are formed by dams on the Warche.

It is a right tributary of the river Amblève

Amblève (river)

The Amblève or Amel is a 93 km long river in eastern Belgium in the province of Liège. It is a right tributary of the river Ourthe. It rises near Büllingen in the High Fens , close to the border with Germany.Tributaries of the Amblève are the rivers Warche, Eau Rouge, Salm and Lienne...

, which it joins east of Stavelot

Stavelot

Stavelot is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006, Stavelot had a total population of 6,671. The total area is 85.07 km² which gives a population density of 78 inhabitants per km².-History:...

.

In the past the Warche used to flow northward from Bevercee, following the current Trô Maret valley, to continue through the current Eau Rouge

Eau Rouge

The Eau Rouge is a small, 15 km long stream in the Belgian province of Liège, right tributary of the Amblève. It starts in the Hautes Fagnes and ends in Challes, near Stavelot in the river Amblève....

 valley. This last valley is much larger than can be expected from such a small flow, still representing the original Warche valley. In that time the Warche confluenced with the Amblève at Stavelot

Stavelot

Stavelot is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006, Stavelot had a total population of 6,671. The total area is 85.07 km² which gives a population density of 78 inhabitants per km².-History:...

. Later on, probably during the last ice age

Wisconsin glaciation

The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....

 the Warche adopted its current position, flowing through the Malmedy graben

Graben

In geology, a graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults. Graben is German for ditch. Graben is used for both the singular and plural....

.