Oise

The third one in Top 10 Longest Rivers in Belgium that Toplist wants to introduce to you is Oise. The Oise is a Belgian and French river that flows for 341 kilometers (212 miles) from its headwaters in the Belgian province of Hainaut, south of Chimay. After about 20 kilometers, it crosses the border into France (12 mi). It empties into the Seine at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a northwestern Paris suburb. The Aisne is its main tributary. It was the inspiration for the French departments of Oise and Val-d'Oise.

The Oise has played an important role as an inland shipping waterway connecting the Seine (and thus Paris) with the coastal regions of northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands over the centuries. The Oise will be linked at Janville, north of Compiègne, to the high-capacity Canal Dunkerque-Escaut, east of Arleux, with the planned construction of the Seine-Nord Europe Canal, a high-capacity water transport system. The Seine-Nord Europe Canal will replace the old Canal de Saint-Quentin and the current Canal du Nord, both of which have far insufficient capacity. When the new Seine-Nord connection is completed, large vessels will be able to transport goods from the Seine, and thus Paris and its surroundings, to the ports of Dunkirk, Antwerp, and Rotterdam.

Part of the overall project involves upgrading the river Oise between Creil and Compiègne, a project known as MAGEO (Mise au gabarit européen de l'Oise), which was put out to public consultation in 2013. To meet the requirements of a class Vb inland waterway, some bends must be eased and bridges must be raised.

Length: 341 km (212 mi- shared with France)