Lech River

The Lech is a river that flows between Austria and Germany. It is a 255-kilometer-long (158-mile) right tributary of the Danube with a drainage basin of 3,919 square kilometers (1,513 sq mi). Its typical mouth outflow is 115 m3/s (4,100 cu ft/s). Its source is in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the river rises at an altitude of 1,870 meters from the Formarinsee lake in the Alps (6,120 ft). It flows north-northeasterly till it reaches the German border, where it forms the Lechfall, a 12-meter-high (39-foot) waterfall; then it enters a small canyon (the Lechschlucht). It leaves the Alps and reaches the Allgäu plains in Füssen, in the German state of Bavaria, at an elevation of 790 meters (2,580 feet), where it used to be the border with Swabia. The river flows through Füssen and the Forggensee, a man-made lake that is drained during the winter. It creates rapids and a waterfall here.

The Lech continues north through the Lechrain region, passing past the cities of Schongau, Landsberg, Augsburg (where it gets the Wertach), and Rain before joining the Danube close before Donauwörth at an elevation of 410 meters (1,330 ft). Because of its torrential nature and the gravel banks that clog its channel, it is impassable. From Neuschwanstein Castle, in Füssen, there are panoramic views of the Lech valley.

Length: 255.3 km