Editing Meuse (section)

==Geography==
[[Image:Meuse River SPOT 1140.jpg|thumb|298px|The Meuse seen from [[SPOT (satellite)|SPOT]] satellite. The village in the lower right of the photo is [[Bogny-sur-Meuse]]; the village in the upper left is [[Revin]].]]

The Meuse rises in Pouilly-en-Bassigny, commune of [[Le Châtelet-sur-Meuse]] on the [[Langres]] plateau in France from where it flows northwards past [[Sedan, France|Sedan]] (the head of [[Navigable river|navigation]]) and [[Charleville-Mézières]] into Belgium.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} {{Sandre|B---0000|La Meuse}}</ref>

At [[Namur]] it is joined by the [[Sambre]]. Beyond Namur the Meuse winds eastwards and passes [[Liège]] before turning north. The river then forms part of the Belgian-Dutch border, except that at [[Maastricht]] the border lies further to the west. In the Netherlands it continues northwards through [[Venlo]] closely along the border to Germany, then turns towards the west, where it runs parallel to the [[Waal (river)|Waal]] and forms part of the extensive [[Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta]], together with the [[Scheldt]] to its south and the [[Rhine]] to the north. The river has been divided near [[Heusden]] into the [[Afgedamde Maas]] on the right and the [[Bergse Maas]] on the left. The Bergse Maas continues under the name of [[Amer (river)|Amer]], which is part of [[De Biesbosch]]. The Afgedamde Maas joins the Waal, the main stem of the Rhine at [[Woudrichem]], and then flows under the name of [[Boven Merwede]] to [[Hardinxveld-Giessendam]], where it splits into [[Nieuwe Merwede]] and [[Beneden Merwede]]. Near [[Lage Zwaluwe]], the Nieuwe Merwede joins the Amer, forming the [[Hollands Diep]], which splits into [[Grevelingen]] and [[Haringvliet]], before finally flowing into the North Sea.

The Meuse is crossed by railway bridges between the following stations (on the left and right banks respectively):
* Belgium:
** [[Hasselt]] (Belgium) – [[Maastricht]] (Netherlands)
* Netherlands:
** [[Weert]] - [[Roermond]]
** [[Venlo|Blerick]] – [[Venlo]]
** [[Cuijk]] – Mook-Molenhoek
** [[Ravenstein, Netherlands|Ravenstein]] – [[Wijchen]]
** [['s-Hertogenbosch]] – [[Zaltbommel]]

There are also numerous road bridges and around 32 ferry crossings.

The Meuse is navigable over a substantial part of its total length: In the Netherlands and Belgium, the river is part of the major inland navigation infrastructure, connecting the Rotterdam-Amsterdam-Antwerp port areas to the industrial areas upstream: 's-Hertogenbosch, Venlo, Maastricht, Liège, Namur. Between Maastricht and [[Maasbracht]], an unnavigable section of the Meuse is bypassed by the {{convert|36|km|mi|1|abbr=on}} [[Juliana Canal]]. South of Namur, further upstream, the river can only carry more modest vessels, although a barge as long as {{convert|100|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. can still reach the French border town of Givet.

From Givet, the river is canalized over a distance of {{convert|272|km|mi|0}}. The canalized Meuse used to be called the "Canal de l'Est — Branche Nord" but was recently rebaptized into "Canal de la Meuse". The waterway can be used by the smallest barges that are still in use commercially almost {{convert|40|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} long and just over {{convert|5|m|ft|0}} wide. Just upstream of the town of Commercy, the Canal de la Meuse connects with the [[Marne–Rhine Canal]] by means of a short diversion canal.<ref>NoorderSoft Waterways database</ref>

The Cretaceous sea reptile ''[[Mosasaurus]]'' is named after the river Meuse. The first fossils of it were discovered outside Maastricht in 1780.
{{wide image|Meuse, in the french ardennes.JPG|1000px|{{center|A view of the Meuse in the French Ardennes at [[Laifour]]}}}}