LIPPE RIVER

river, a right-bank tributary of the Rhine, that flows through North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state) in Germany. Rising near Bad Lippspringe on the western edge of the Teutoburger Wald, the Lippe follows a westerly course of 155 miles (250 km) and flows into the Rhine near Wesel. The river lies along the northern border of the Ruhr industrial region. By the aid of locks it is navigable downstream from Lippstadt for boats and barges drawing less than 4 ft (1.2 m). The Lippe was once used for the transport of coal, timber, and agricultural produce to and from Westphalia, but in 1929 it was replaced by a canal that follows its course from the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal to the Rhine. The Lippe supplies water to the canal system of the Ruhr region, and during the 1960s the canal along the river was extended to east of Hamm.