MOSELLE (Germ. Mosel, Dutch Moezel, anc. Mosella), a river of Europe, rises in France, in the Vosges Mountains, at the S.E. corner of the department of Vosges, and flows in an irregular course for some distance N.W., and then nearly N., through the departments of Vosges, Meurthe, and Moselle. It then separates Dutch Luxembourg from Rhenish Prussia for a short distance; and finally, after crossing the latter country in a very winding course, generally N.E., it falls into the Rhine at Coblenz. For the greater part of its course this river flows in a narrow valley, bounded in some places by rocky mountains; but in the department of Moselle, from Metz as far as Sierck, the hills recede to some distance from the river, and inclose a wider plain. The largest of the tributaries of the Moselle enter it from the right,—namely, the Mosellette, the Vologne, the Meurthe, the Seille, and the Sarre. Its tributaries from the left are the Madon, the Math, the Orne, the Sure, the Kyll, and the Elz; the first three being in France, and the others in Prussia. The Moselle occasionally overflows its banks, and causes great injury to the surrounding country. Its whole length is 320 miles, of which 182 are in France; and it is navigable as far as its confluence with the Meurthe, 210 miles from Coblenz. Above this point, however, it may be traversed by small boats for some distance; and timber is floated down the stream from very near its source. The soil through which it flows is very fertile, and the scenery on its banks is in many places of great beauty.