Steinlach

The Steinlach is a river with a length of 26 km (16 mi) in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is a tributary to the Neckar.

It has its source in the Eckenbachgraben, a gap in the Swabian Alb mountain range. The source is on the territory of the town of Mössingen, on an elevation of 700 m (2,300 ft) above sea level. The Steinlach flows into a northerly direction. After taking up several streams outside of Mössingen, it flows through Ofterdingen, Nehren and Dußlingen to Tübingen, where it discharges into the Neckar.

The Steinlach has its source east of Mössinger District Talheim and west of Ruchberges at about 710 meters above sea Level in a northeastern side valley of the Eckenbachgraben, a gorge between five and ten meters deep below the Traufkante of the Swabian Alb. The source outlet of the somewhat longer left upper reaches from the Eckenbachgraben shifts with the karst water level of the Swabian Alb. The sources of both branches are just still located in the municipal area of Sonnenbühl.

The Steinlach enters the Steinlachtal near Talheim in the Alb foothills and is then strengthened by the Weiherbach, which is longer at its mouth and has a much larger catchment area. It now flows approximately northwest, takes the Öschenbach from the right one kilometer before Mössingen and then crosses Mössingen on its western course. After the Tannbach in Ofterdingen, which is also a considerable stream, flows from the south-southwest, it first follows its flow direction. But already from the isolated mill in Nehren it flows constantly northwards until the mouth. After the next village Dußlingen, its largest tributary, the Wiesaz, flows from the right, close to its powder mill. In the following short valley section forest heights move close to the river for the first time since Talheim, on the left and on the right side. From the right side the Ehrenbach coming from direction Ohmenhausen flows into the river at Bläsibad. On now straightened run through the Tübinger district Derendingen and finally through the southern part of the city centre of Tübingen, it reaches the Neckar, to which it flows from the right at about 317.5 meters above Sea Level, less than half a kilometre below the Neckarinsel.

The Steinlach flows into the river Steinlach after its almost 26 ‰ km long path with an average river bed gradient of 15 ‰ about 393 meters below its source.

The Steinlach drains almost 142 km² at the Albtrauf around Mössingen and Gomaringen and in the Albvorland north to the Neckar. Its catchment area borders on its northeastern side already a little upstream of its mouth on the catchment area of the Echaz, the next large right tributary of the Neckar. On the southeast side, the European Watershed runs along the Albtrauf along the Albtrauf from the Rhine on this side to the Danube on the other side, direct competitor to the Danube is the Lauchert with its tributaries and its partly long underground karst tributaries. Behind the short southwestern watershed the Starzel now runs again to the Neckar above the Steinlach. The following neighbouring rivers behind, of which only the Katzenbach and possibly also the Bühlertalbach have some importance, drain the forest area of the Rammert, which extends adjacent to this side to the estuary of Tübingen.

The highest altitudes are all on the Albtrauf at the southeastern watershed, where the terrain rarely falls below 800 meters above Sea Level. The Monkberg south of Talheim above the headwaters of the Wangenbach reaches 884.4 m above Sea Level, the second highest Bolberg left above the valley slope of the upper Öschenbach 8808 meters above Sea Level.

Direct tributaries from the source to the estuary.