Scheldt (redirected from Scheldt River)

Scheldt (skĕlt), Du. Schelde, Fr. Escaut, river, c.270 mi (435 km) long, rising in N France and flowing generally NE across W Belgium and into the North Sea through the Western Scheldt (De Honte) estuary, SW Netherlands. It receives its chief tributary, the Lys, at Ghent (Gent). Navigable for most of its length, the river is connected with a dense network of canals in N France and Belgium. From the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 until 1863 (except during the Napoleonic period), the Netherlands possessed the right to close the Scheldt estuary and thus had a stranglehold over the port of Antwerp.

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Scheldt

a river in W Europe, rising in NE France and flowing north and northeast through W Belgium to Antwerp, then northwest to the North Sea in the SW Netherlands. Length: 435 km (270 miles)

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Scheldt 

(Dutch and Flemish, Schelde; French, Escaut), a river in France and Belgium and in the Netherlands, where it forms an estuary. The Scheldt is 430 km long and drains an area of 35,500 sq km. It flows across the plains of Flanders and empties into the North Sea through the estuary known as the West Scheldt. Until 1867 it also formed an estuary called the East Scheldt. The river’s principal tributaries are the Lys and the Rupel.

In its lower course, the Scheldt is subject to tides as far as the city of Ghent; the tides reach an amplitude of 3.8 m at the river’s mouth. In the Scheldt’s delta, the river and its branches have been diked to protect the adjoining land from floods. High water occurs during the cold months. The mean flow rate is approximately 100 cu m per sec.

The Scheldt is navigable as far as the city of Cambrai in France. Oceangoing vessels can sail as far as Antwerp. A system of canals connects the river to the Senne, Somme, and Meuse (Maas). The Belgian cities of Ghent and Antwerp are situated on the Scheldt.