River Scheldt. The Scheldt is a 350-kilometre long river in northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands.
Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old English sceald, Modern English shoal, Low German schol, West Frisian skol, and Swedish skäll. The headwaters of the Scheldt are in Gouy, in the Aisne department of northern France.
It flows north through Cambrai and Valenciennes, and enters Belgium near Tournai. In Ghent, where it receives the Lys, one of its main tributaries, the Scheldt turns east.
Near Antwerp, the largest city on its banks, the Scheldt flows west into the Netherlands towards the North Sea. Originally there were two branches from that point: the Oosterschelde; and the Westerschelde.
In the 19th century, however, the river was cut off from its eastern branch by a dyke that connects Zuid-Beveland with the mainland. Today the river therefore continues into the Westerschelde estuary only, passing Terneuzen to reach the North Sea between Breskens in Zeelandic Flanders and Vlissingen on Walcheren. The Scheldt is an important waterway, and has been made navigable from its mouth up to Cambrai. Above Cambrai, the Canal de Saint-Quentin follows its course. The port of Antwerp, the second largest in Europe, lies on its banks. Several canals connect the Scheldt with the basins of the Rhine, Meuse and Seine, and with the industrial areas ar
Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old English sceald, Modern English shoal, Low German schol, West Frisian skol, and Swedish skäll. The headwaters of the Scheldt are in Gouy, in the Aisne department of northern France.
It flows north through Cambrai and Valenciennes, and enters Belgium near Tournai. In Ghent, where it receives the Lys, one of its main tributaries, the Scheldt turns east.
Near Antwerp, the largest city on its banks, the Scheldt flows west into the Netherlands towards the North Sea. Originally there were two branches from that point: the Oosterschelde; and the Westerschelde.
In the 19th century, however, the river was cut off from its eastern branch by a dyke that connects Zuid-Beveland with the mainland. Today the river therefore continues into the Westerschelde estuary only, passing Terneuzen to reach the North Sea between Breskens in Zeelandic Flanders and Vlissingen on Walcheren. The Scheldt is an important waterway, and has been made navigable from its mouth up to Cambrai. Above Cambrai, the Canal de Saint-Quentin follows its course. The port of Antwerp, the second largest in Europe, lies on its banks. Several canals connect the Scheldt with the basins of the Rhine, Meuse and Seine, and with the industrial areas ar
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