The Rhine is a European river that begins in the Swiss canton of Grisons in the southeastern Swiss Alps, flows through Germany and eventually empties into the North Sea in the Netherlands. It is the twelfth longest river in Europe, at about 1,233 km (766 mi) with an average discharge of more than 2,000 m3/s . Some riverboats sail strictly on the Rhine (known as the Rhein River in Germany), while many join with the Rhine with other waterways in Germany, Austria, Hungary or the Netherlands.