Editing Main (river) (section)

==Geography==
The Main flows through the north and north-west of the [[States of Germany|state]] of [[Bavaria]] and then across southern [[Hesse]]; against the latter it demarcates a third state, [[Baden-Württemberg]], east and west of [[Wertheim am Main]], the northernmost town of that state.  

The upper end of its [[drainage basin|basin]] opposes that of the [[Danube]] where the watershed is recognised by natural biologists, sea salinity studies (and hydrology science more broadly) as the [[European Watershed]].

The Main begins near [[Kulmbach]] in [[Franconia]] at the joining of its two headstreams, the [[Red Main]] (''Roter Main'') and the [[White Main]] (''Weißer Main'').  The Red Main originates in the [[Franconian Jura]] mountain range, {{convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on}} in length, and runs through [[Creussen]] and [[Bayreuth]]. The White Main originates in the [[Fichtel Mountains]]; it is {{convert|41|km|mi|abbr=on}} long. In its upper and middle section, the Main runs through the valleys of the German Highlands. Its lower section crosses the Lower Main Lowlands ([[Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin]] and northern [[Upper Rhine Plain]]) to [[Wiesbaden]], where it discharges into the [[Rhine]]. Major tributaries of the Main are the [[Regnitz]], the [[Franconian Saale]], the [[Tauber]], and the [[Nidda River|Nidda]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Uehlinger |first1=Urs |last2=Wantzen |first2=Karl |last3=Leuven |first3=Rob S.E.W. |last4=Arndt |first4=Hartmut |editor1-last=Tockner |editor1-first=Klement |editor2-last=Uehlinger |editor2-first=Urs |editor3-last=Robinson |editor3-first=Christopher T. |title=Rivers of Europe |date=2009 |publisher=Academic Press |pages=238–239 |chapter=The Rhine River Basin |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-369449-2.00006-0|isbn=9780123694492 |s2cid=16401687 }}</ref>

The name ''Main'' originates from [[Latin]] ''Moenis'', ''Moenus'' or ''Menus''. It is not related to the name of the city [[Mainz#History|Mainz]] (Latin: ''[[Roman Mogontiacum|Mogontiacum]]'' or ''Moguntiacum'').