Editing Elbe (section)

{{short description|Major river in Central Europe}}
{{hatnote group|
{{otheruses}}
{{distinguish|text=the island of [[Elba]]}}
}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Elbe
| native_name        = {{native name list|tag1=de|name1=Elbe|tag2=cs|name2=Labe|tag3=nds|name3=Ilv, Elv|tag4=wen|name4=Łobjo}}
| native_name_lang   = 
| name_other         = Elve
| name_etymology     = 
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Labe_udoli.jpg
| image_size         = 
| image_caption      = The Elbe (Labe) near Děčín, Czech Republic
| map                = Elbe basin.png
| map_size           = 
| map_caption        = The Elbe drainage basin
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_map_size   = 
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| mapframe           = yes
| mapframe-zoom      = 5
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Countries
| subdivision_name1  = {{hlist|[[Czech Republic]]|[[Germany]]}}
| subdivision_type2  = [[Regions of the Czech Republic|Regions <small>(CZ)</small>]]
| subdivision_name2  = {{hlist|[[Hradec Králové Region|Hradec Králové]]|[[Pardubice Region|Pardubice]]|[[Central Bohemian Region|Central Bohemia]]|[[Ústí nad Labem Region|Ústí nad Labem]]}}
| subdivision_type3  = [[States of Germany|States <small>(DE)</small>]]
| subdivision_name3  = {{hlist|[[Saxony]]|[[Saxony-Anhalt]]|[[Brandenburg]]|[[Lower Saxony]]|[[Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania]]|[[Hamburg]]|[[Schleswig-Holstein]]}}
| subdivision_type4  = 
| subdivision_name4  = 
| subdivision_type5  = Cities
| subdivision_name5  = {{hlist|[[Hradec Králové]]|[[Pardubice]]|[[Ústí nad Labem]]|[[Děčín]]|[[Dresden]]|[[Meissen]]|[[Wittenberg]]|[[Dessau]]|[[Magdeburg]]|[[Hamburg]]|[[Stade]]|[[Cuxhaven]]}}
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|1112|km|mi|abbr=on}} 
| width_min          = 
| width_avg          = 
| width_max          = 
| depth_min          = 
| depth_avg          = 
| depth_max          = 
| discharge1_location= [[river mouth|mouth]]
| discharge1_min     = {{convert|493|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_avg     = {{convert|870|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_max     = {{convert|1232|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge2_location= [[Děčín]]
| discharge2_min     = 
| discharge2_avg     = {{convert|303|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge2_max     = 
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = Elbe Meadow
| source1_location   = Giant Mountains, [[Czech Republic]]
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|50|46|32.59|N|15|32|10.14|E|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation  = {{convert|1386|m|abbr=on}}
| mouth              = [[North Sea]]
| mouth_location     = [[Germany]]
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|53|55|20|N|8|43|20|E|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    = {{convert|0|m|abbr=on}}
| progression        = 
| river_system       = 
| basin_size         = {{convert|148268|km2|abbr=on}}
| tributaries_left   = [[Vltava]], [[Ohře]], [[Mulde]], [[Saale]], [[Ohre]], [[Ilmenau (river)|Ilmenau]], [[Este (river)|Este]], [[Lühe (river)|Lühe]], [[Schwinge (Elbe)|Schwinge]], [[Oste]], [[Medem]]
| tributaries_right  = [[Jizera (river)|Jizera]], [[Schwarze Elster]], [[Havel]], [[Elde]], [[Bille (Elbe)|Bille]], [[Alster]], [[Mrlina]]
| custom_label       = 
| custom_data        = 
| extra              = 
}}

The '''Elbe''' ({{langx|cs|Labe}} {{IPA|cs|ˈlabɛ||Cs-Labe.ogg}}; {{IPA|de|ˈɛlbə|lang|De-Elbe.ogg}}; {{langx|nds|Ilv}} or ''Elv''; [[Upper Sorbian|Upper]] and {{langx|dsb|Łobjo}}, {{IPA|wen|ˈwɔbʲɔ|pron}}) is one of the major [[river]]s of [[Central Europe]]. It rises in the [[Giant Mountains]] of the northern [[Czech Republic]] before traversing much of [[Bohemia]] (western half of the Czech Republic), then [[Germany]] and flowing into the [[North Sea]] at [[Cuxhaven]], {{convert|110|km|abbr=off}} northwest of [[Hamburg]]. Its total length is {{convert|1094|km|abbr=on}}.<ref name=erb>{{cite web | url = http://www.ikse-mkol.org/fileadmin/media/user_upload/E/06_Publikationen/08_IKSE_Flyer/2016_ICPER-Flyer_The_Elbe_River_Basin.pdf| title = Elbe River basin | publisher = International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe River | access-date = 2018-03-20}}</ref>

The Elbe's major [[Tributary|tributaries]] include the rivers [[Vltava]], [[Ohře]], [[Saale]], [[Havel]], [[Mulde]], and [[Schwarze Elster]].<ref name=erb />

The Elbe river basin, comprising the Elbe and its tributaries, has a catchment area of {{convert|148268|km2}}, the twelfth largest in Europe. The basin spans four countries; however, it lies almost entirely just in two of them, Germany (65.5%) and the Czech Republic (33.7%, covering about two thirds of the nation's territory). On its southeastern edges, the Elbe river basin also comprises small parts of [[Austria]] (0.6%) and [[Poland]] (0.2%). The Elbe catchment area is inhabited by 24.4 million people; its biggest cities are [[Berlin]], [[Hamburg]], [[Prague]], [[Dresden]] and [[Leipzig]].<ref name=erb />