HAVEL  , a

river of Prussia, Germany, having its origin in Lake Dambeck (223 ft.) on the Mecklenburg plateau, a few miles north-west of Neu-Strelitz, and after threading several lakes flowing south as far as Spandau . Thence it curves south-west, past Potsdam and Brandenburg, traversing another chain of lakes, and finally continues north-west until it joins the Elbe from the right some miles above Wittenberge after a total course of 221 M. and a total fall of only 158 ft . Its banks are mostly marshy or sandy, and the stream is navigable from the Mecklenburg lakes downwards . Several canals connect it with these lakes, as well as with other rivers e.g. the Finow canal with the Oder, the Ruppin canal with the Rhin, the Berlin-Spandau navigable canal (JZ m.) with the Spree, and the Plaue-Ihle canal with the Elbe . The Sakrow-Paretz canal, 11 m. long, cuts off the deep bend at Potsdam . The most notable of the tributaries is the Spree (227*m. long), which bisects Berlin and joins the Havel at Spandau . Area of river basin, 10,159 sq . }n .