IJssel

The IJssel (Dutch:; Dutch Low Saxon: Iessel(t) ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. It is sometimes called the Gelderse IJssel to distinguish it from the Hollandse IJssel. It is in the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel, the latter of which was named after this river. The Romans knew the river as Isala. It flows from Westervoort, on the east side of the city of Arnhem. Similar to the Nederrijn which shares its short inflow, the Pannerdens Kanaal, it is a minor discharge of the Rhine. At the fork where the Kanaal is sourced the Rhine takes the name the Waal. This splitting-off is west of the German border.