Editing Ruhr (river) (section)

==Description and history==
[[Image:Ruhr-flut.JPG|thumb|left|The Ruhr valley near [[Bochum]] during a flood]]

The source of the Ruhr is near the town of [[Winterberg]] in the mountainous [[Sauerland]] region, at an elevation of approximately {{convert|670|m|ft}}. It flows into the lower [[Rhine]] at an elevation of only {{convert|17|m|ft}} in the municipal area of [[Duisburg]]. Its total length is {{convert|219|km|mi|abbr=on}}, its average discharge is {{convert|79|m3/s}} at [[Mülheim]] near its mouth. Thus, its discharge is, for example, comparable to that of the river [[Ems (river)|Ems]] in Northern Germany or the [[River Thames]] in the [[United Kingdom]].

The Ruhr first passes the towns of [[Meschede]], [[Arnsberg]], [[Wickede]], [[Fröndenberg]], [[Holzwickede]], [[Iserlohn]], and [[Schwerte]]. Then the river marks the southern limit of the [[Ruhr area]], passing [[Hagen]], [[Dortmund]], [[Herdecke]], [[Wetter (Ruhr)|Wetter]], [[Witten, Germany|Witten]], [[Bochum]], [[Hattingen]], [[Essen]], [[Mülheim]], and [[Duisburg]].

The [[Ruhr area]] was Germany's primary industrial area during the early- to mid-20th century. Most factories were located there. The [[occupation of the Ruhr]] from 1923 to 1924 by French forces, due to the [[Weimar Republic]]'s failure to continue paying reparations from [[World War I]], provoked [[passive resistance]], which saw production in the factories grind to a halt. As a result, the German [[hyperinflation]] crisis grew even worse.

During [[World War II]], two of the dams on the Ruhr, the [[Möhne Dam]] and the [[Sorpe Dam]] were targets for [[Operation Chastise]], in which special "bouncing bombs" were developed to take out the dams and flood the valley, with the hope of seriously affecting the German industries there. The story was told in a 1951 [[The Dam Busters (book)|book]] and the popular 1955 film made from it, ''[[The Dam Busters (film)|The Dam Busters]]''.