The Rhine River (German: Rhein, French: Rhin, Dutch: Rijn) is 1,230 kilometres (760 mi) long. Its name comes from the Celtic word "renos", which means 'raging flow'.
The Rhine is an important waterway. 883 kilometres (549 mi) can be used by ships, and boats can go to the Black Sea using the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. Many goods are transported over the Rhine, and the Rhine valley is also an important wine producing region. The river Rhine begins at Tomasee, a lake in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland,[1] and runs through Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. It is the border between Switzerland and Liechtenstein and also the border between Germany and France. It is also the border between Switzerland and Austria. It is also the border between the Netherlands and Germany. It is the border between France and Switzerland. It runs through Basel, Bonn, Cologne and Duisburg. It also separates the cities of Mainz and Wiesbaden. The Rhine has 50 species of fish. The Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe.
The river runs through only one lake on its way, Lake Constance, which is on the border of Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
The middle Rhine has many castles. Robber barons used some of them during the 15th–18th centuries. When the Industrial Revolution hit Europe, factories set up along its banks and emptied their waste into the River. The Salmon left and other fish became rare. After World War II, the Rhine Action Programme was set up to boost the Rhine's wildlife and reduce the pollution there.
Together with the Danube it formed most of the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.
