Alf (river)

The Alf is a small river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, a left tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Eifel, near Darscheid, east of Daun. The Alf flows south through Mehren, Gillenfeld and Bausendorf, where it turns east to flow into the Moselle at the village of Alf.

Course
The Alf rises about 1 km northeast of Hörscheid in the Volcanic Eifel. From its source at a height of 549 m, the Alf initially flows in a southerly direction to the village of Darscheid, from which it flows to the east through the villages of Gillenfeld and Strohn. The next section of the Alf, to Bausendorf, is very winding; it then turns towards the east and cuts through the south of the forest of Kondelwald, passing the villages of Kinderbeuern and Bengel. Around 3.5 km beyond Bengel it changes course abruptly and swings north. A ridge prevents it from flowing further east unto the Moselle, here just 500 m away. After breaking through the Moselle Hills the Alf finally reaches the Moselle at Alf (Cochem-Zell) at a height of 95 m. Along its 53 km course from source to mouth, the Alf descends through 454 m, giving it an average river bed gradient of 8.6‰.