What does this number measure?
The Danube forms near Donaueschingen from watercourses originating in the Black Forest and reaches the Black Sea through a vast delta. It crosses or borders ten countries. The choice of source branch and delta branch affects its documented length.
This length follows the course adopted by the catalogue. Maps show simplified, sometimes partial courses; an independent bar represents the documented length, distinct from straight-line distance.
Compare the stated dimensions
The comparison uses the number in each fact sheet: altitude, height, diameter, length or distance, depending on the reference. Two values in metres do not necessarily describe the same property.
Source and limitations
Rounded conventional value; the chosen source and delta channels cause published figures to vary.
Top-down view of a simplified geographical route of the Danube, based on the available mapped segments. The reference drawing may be partial, and river systems may combine several branches. The river’s width and the water and bank textures are interpreted; this is not a satellite photograph. Only the lower bar represents the documented reference length; the width of the map above does not measure that length. Route: Natural Earth, public domain. Licence: Public domain.