Birsig 2032204 225575669 2008-07-14T11:28:50Z Markussep 96340 source location {{Infobox_River | river_name = Birsig | image_name = BirsigBasel.jpg | image_size = | caption = Beginning of the Birsig's overbuilding near the Basel zoo | origin = | mouth = [[Rhine]] | basin_countries = [[France]], [[Switzerland]] | length = 21 km | elevation = | mouth_elevation = | discharge = | watershed = 82 m<sup>2</sup> }} The '''Birsig river''' is a small [[river]] in eastern [[France]] and northern [[Switzerland]]. Its source is in the village [[Biederthal]], in the French [[Haut-Rhin]] department, near the Swiss border. The Birsig is about 21 kilometers long and its [[drainage basin|watershed]] area is about 82 [[square kilometer]]s. It flows variably through Swiss and French territory and through the [[Birsig Valley]]. Afterwards it passes the city of [[Basel]], where it enters the [[Rhine|Rhine river]] (left bank). The Birsig river originally flowed openly through Basel, but its banks had been built up and forced early to prevent water damage to the houses. The river flowed directly along the houses in the lower part of the city, where many bridges were built over. It took the fecal waste from the houses and was therefore called "the city's big [[cloaca]]", which favoured the outbreak of [[cholera]] and [[typhus]]. Nowadays the Birsig river is overbuilt in Basel; there are just a few hundred meters around the city [[zoo]] where the Birsig river can be seen openly. == External links == ;Maps, photos, and other images :*[http://www.basel.ch/?nav=218&lang=en Photography of the Birsig kloak] {{Template:Rhine Tributaries}} [[Category:Rivers of Switzerland]] [[Category:Rivers of France]] [[Category:Rhine basin]] [[als:Birsig]] [[da:Birsig]] [[de:Birsig]] [[fr:Birsig]] [[nl:Birsig]] [[no:Birsig]] [[nn:Birsig]]