Odenbach (Glan)
The Odenbach is a orographically right bank tributary of the Glan in the counties of Kaiserslautern and Kusel in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Geography
Course
The Odenbach rises about north of Kaiserslautern in the North Palatine Uplands near the hamlet of Sonnenhof. It flows – mainly in a north-northwesterly direction – through the municipalities of Schneckenhausen, Schallodenbach and Niederkirchen in the county of Kaiserslautern and through Hefersweiler, Reipoltskirchen, Ginsweiler and Adenbach in the county of Kusel, before emptying into the Glan in the eponymous village of Odenbach after a distance of just under 23 kilometres.Catchment
The catchment of the Odenbach covers an area of and consist of 50% arable land, 25.6% pasture, 20.2% woodland and 4.2% settlements.ImageSize = width:600 height:150
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ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:5 start:0
- The formatting blanks in the Colors-section are in fact figure spaces
id:Wald value:teal legend:20,2_% Waldfläche
id:Acker value:yelloworange legend:50,0_% Ackerland
id:Wiese value:green legend:25,6_% Grünland
id:Orte value:red legend: 4,2_% Siedlungsbereich
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from:00.0 till:20.2 color:Wald
from:20.2 till:70.2 color:Acker
from:70.2 till:95.8 color:Wiese
from:95.8 till:100.0 color:Orte
Tributaries
The most important tributary of the Odenbach is the, which alone drains 21% of the catchment of the Odenbach. The other streams have a catchment of less than.The following table shows the tributaries of the Odenbach from source to mouth, as listed by the Water Management Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate. The table gives the name, whether it is a left or right tributary, its length, its catchment area,, the location of its confluence, the height of its confluence and its waterbody number.
| Name | Left/right tributary | Length | Catchment | Distance from mouth | Height at confluence | GKZ |
| Steidelbach | left | 0.7 | 0.415 | West of Schneckenhausen | 326 | 25468-1112 |
| Horterbach | right | 2.2 | 2.205 | On the western edge of Schneckenhausen | 319 | 25468-112 |
| Gorrhof | left | 0.5 | 0.222 | Between Schneckenhausen and Schallodenbach | 314 | 25468-1192 |
| Kirschgraben | right | 0.8 | 0.535 | Between Schneckenhausen and Schallodenbach | 313 | 25468-1194 |
| Sellbach | right | 1.0 | 0.781 | East of Schallodenbach | 308 | 25468-12 |
| source | left | 0.4 | 0.198 | East of Schallodenbach | 304 | 25468-132 |
| Baierbach | right | 0.9 | 0.825 | West of Schallodenbach | 301 | 25468-134 |
| Faulborn | left | 1.0 | 0.618 | Northwest of Schallodenbach | 292 | 25468-136 |
| Neuhöfer Bach | left | 0.9 | 0.742 | Between Schallodenbach and Niederkirchen-Wörsbach | 290 | 25468-14 |
| Wörsbach | left | 1,4 | 1,584 | südlich von Wörsbach-Rauschermühle | 281 | 25468-16 |
| Lenzelbach | left | 0.5 | Near Wörsbach-Rauschermühle | 281 | 25468-1912 | |
| Finstergraben | right | 1.7 | 0,349 | NNE of Wörsbach-Rauschermühle | 265 | 25468-1914 |
| Flachsgarten | left | 0.1 | 0.410 | S of Niederkirchen | 261 | 25468-1916 |
| Käsbach | right | 0.3 | 0.687 | S of Niederkirchen | 260 | 25468-1918 |
| Weilerbach | left | 2.4 | 2.984 | In Niederkirchen | 259 | 25468-192 |
| Steinbach | right | 4.2 | 9.879 | In Niederkirchen | 259 | 25468-2 |
| Farsbach | left | 1.2 | 0.777 | NW of Niederkirchen | 241 | 25468-31129 |
| Kohlengraben | right | 0.6 | 0.431 | NE of Niederkirchen-Bügenmühlerhof | 240 | 25468-312 |
| Morgraben | left | 0.3 | 0.232 | NW of Niederkirchen-Bügenmühlerhof | 240 | 25468-3192 |
| Moorbach | left | 3.1 | 3.385 | in Niederkirchen-Morbach | 236 | 25468-32 |
| Kallbach | right | 1.8 | 1.42 | SSW of Seelen | 233 | 25468-3?? |
| Mühlgraben | left | 0.5 | 0.214 | S of Hefersweiler | 225 | 25468-392 |
| Wambach | left | 1.9 | 1.973 | In Hefersweiler | 224 | 25468-4 |
| Borngraben | right | 1.1 | 0.690 | W of Hefersweiler-Berzweiler | 221 | 25468-512 |
| Zangengraben | left | 1.7 | 1.127 | NE of Hefersweiler-Ahlbornerhof | 216 | 25468-52 |
| Emmersbach | right | 1.0 | 0.665 | SSE of Reipoltskirchen-Ingweilerhof | 211 | 25468-592 |
| Hirzbach | left | 0.4 | 0.106 | Opposite Ingweilerhof | 210 | 25468-594 |
| Nußbach | right | 7.4 | 18.468 | SE of Reipoltskirchen | 199 | 25468-6 |
| Ausbach | left | 3.0 | 2.636 | In Reipoltskirchen | 199 | 25468-72 |
| Hahnenbach | left | 1.3 | NW of Reipoltskirchen | 187 | ||
| Schlappenrecher Graben | right | NW of Reipoltskirchen | ||||
| Becherbach | right | 2.5 | 4.305 | W of Ginsweiler | 177 | 25468-8 |
| Olkengraben | left | 0.6 | 0.96 | E of Adenbach-Brucherhof | 170 | 25468-91? |
| Adenbach | right | 2.6 | 2.451 | W edge of Adenbach | 166 | 25468-92 |
| Igelsgraben | right | 0.3 | 0.425 | In Odenbach | 155 | 25468-9992 |
Transport routes
The L 201 runs through the Odenbach valley.Leisure pursuits
The Odenbach Valley Cycleway runs through the Odenbach valley for. It runs from Otterberg via Niederkirchen to OdenbachSights
The best known sights in the valley are the two water castles:- Reipoltskirchen Castle, built in the 12th century, lies on a rocky hill spur above the Odenbach. It was the seat of the lords of Hohenfels-Reipoltskirchen and is first recorded in 1276. The site has largely survived and been restored. It is used by the municipality of Reipoltskirchen inter alia as the Standesamt. Its bergfried is used by tourists as an observation tower.
- Odenbach Castle, at the confluence of the river with the Glan, was built in the 2nd half of the 12th century by the counts of Veldenz and blown up in 1683 by troops of the French king, Louis XIV. The ruins include the renovated remains of the bergfried, which is built of impressive rusticated ashlar blocks and, as the Weiherturm, has become the symbol of the village of Odenbach.