Schussen

Schussen
Schussen
	Source of the Schussen River
	Location of the mouth of the river in Baden-Württemberg
Location
Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Cities	Bad Schussenried; Aulendorf; Weingarten; Ravensburg; Meckenbeuren; Eriskirch;
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	north of Bad Schussenried, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• coordinates	48°1′19″N 9°39′29″E / 48.02194°N 9.65806°E
• elevation	585 m (1,919 ft)
Mouth	Eriskircher wetlands
• location	Eriskirch in the Bodensee
• coordinates	47°36′26.2″N 9°31′37.8″E / 47.607278°N 9.527167°E
• elevation	395 m (1,296 ft)
Length	59.3 km (36.8 mi)
Basin size	822 km2 (317 sq mi)
Basin features
Progression	Lake Constance→ Rhine→ North Sea

The Schussen is a 59-kilometre-long (37 mi) tributary of Lake Constance (Bodensee), which drains to the High Rhine, in the southern portion of Upper Swabia in Baden-Württemberg (Germany).

Course

Drainage basin of river Schussen

From its source, not far from the Lake Feder, around 1.5 km (0.93 mi) north of Bad Schussenried, where it runs down the watershed between the Rhine and the Danube, to the Bodensee.

The river passes south of Aulendorf through its own valley in the northern part of the Altdorf Forests, through the Schussen ravine by Durlesbach and by Mochewangen (Wolpertswende), and from there into the broad Schussen Valley. The valley was not created by the river itself, but rather during one of the Ice Ages. From there it runs past the small city of Weingarten, and, further, by Ravensburg and through the district of Meckenbeuren, before it flows out into Upper Lake Constance (Obersee) in the vicinity of Eriskirch, at the Eriskircher wetlands.

Tributaries

Several streams enter the Schussen, including the Wolfegger Ach, which originates between Binningen and Niederbiegen (both are part of the community of Baienfurt). Other tributaries include the Scherzach, Scharzach, and the Ravensburg city creek.

Oddities

In the course of its passage through the County of Biberach, the Schussen is the only stream that flows south to the Bodensee; all others flow north to the Danube.