Else (Werre)

The Else is a left tributary of the river Werre in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia and in southern Lower Saxony. The Else is a distributary of the river Hase and begins at a river bifurcation near Melle.

Origin

The River Else does not have a source but originates at a hydrological phenomenon known as a river bifurcation. The bifurcation is near Gesmold (part of the borough of Melle) in Lower Saxony, where the river Else branches off the river Hase (at Hase river kilometre 158.9). The bifurcation may have been created or established artificially; or at least maintained artificially. This is however unclear. In history there were disputes over the distribution of water that was able to be controlled by man-made means. For example, the entire water flow could be diverted either into the River Hase or River Werre during conflicts. Today the Hase loses a third of the its water mass at the bifurcation. The Hase flows northwest to the Ems, while the Else flows east to the Weser.