Oude Rijn (Gelderland) in the context of "Pannerdens Kanaal"

The Nederrijn (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈneːdəˌrɛin]; "Lower Rhine"; distinct from the Lower Rhine or Niederrhein further upstream) is the Dutch part of the Rhine from the confluence at the town of Angeren of the cut-off Rhine bend of Oude Rijn (Gelderland) and the Pannerdens Kanaal (which was dug to form the new connection between the Waal and Nederrijn branches). The city of Arnhem lies on the right (north) bank of the Nederrijn, just past the point where the IJssel branches off. The Nederrijn flows on to the city of Wijk bij Duurstede, from where it continues as the Lek. The once-important but now small Kromme Rijn branch (in Roman times part of the Limes Germanicus and border river of the Roman Empire) carries the name "Rhine" towards the city of Utrecht.

From the city of Utrecht, the Kromme Rijn forks into the Vecht to the north, and into the Oude Rijn (Utrecht and South Holland) to the west. The first part is channelised and known as the Leidse Rijn (Leiden Rhine). After the railway bridge near Harmelen (municipality Woerden) it is known as the Oude Rijn, flowing westward to the North Sea.

The Bijlands Kanaal (Bijland Canal) is a canal in the Dutch province of Gelderland, near the Dutch-German border. It is currently by far the most important river-stretch of the Rhine when that major river enters the Netherlands.

It was dug between 1773 and 1776 to cut off a large bend in river Waal to improve water regulation. This bend, and comparable waters, are currently only minor streams. They are known as the minor Oude Waal and De Bijland, and the larger Oude Rijn. The, more or less, defunct flows now only serve one purpose: to function as a buffer zone between the free flowing Waal and Nederrijn on one side and the abandoned stream-beds on the other side. The defunct streams are shallow waters for most of the time and serve as an important spawning ground for all kinds of fish (since they remained connected to the main river through small creeks).