Knee (geography)

A knee, or river knee, is a bend in a river changing its course significantly within a short distance to a different direction (in an angle of around 90 degrees). It is different from a riverbend which is a single isolated bend, and from a meander which consists of several bends in a sinuous course, both without changing the river's main course. In European history, many river knees have proven to be strategically favorable locations to found cities.

Many rivers have significant bends due to geological reasons:

• the Rhine knee in Basel, Switzerland, the river's most significant knee - other knees appear in German cities Wiesbaden and Bingen
• the Danube knee in Vác, Hungary
• the Volga knee at Volgograd, Russia
• the Rhône knee at Martigny, Switzerland
• the Petitcodiac knee at Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, locally known as Le Coude, in English erroneously called "the Bend"

Furthermore, some riverbends are called "knees" although they are actually single bends or a part of meanders:

• the "Vltava knee" in Prague, Czech Republic
• the "Elbe knee" at Königstein Fortress, Germany
• the "Rhine knee" at Düsseldorf, Germany (see also de:Rheinkniebrücke)