The Cottesserbeek and the Beversbergbeek are two smaller streams in South Limburg, often tributaries or substreams of larger waterways like the Geul. They flow through the hilly landscape and contribute to the area's rich biodiversity. These streams create natural wetlands where unique plants and animals live, making the landscape diverse and vibrant.
Cottesserbeek You are near the Cottesserbeek. This flows upstream into the Geul River. The Cottesserbeek is also called the Border Stream because it forms almost the entire border between the Netherlands and Belgium. At its junction with the Cottesserbeek, the Geul flows into the Netherlands.
A few hundred meters upstream from this peak is a measuring point of the Limburg Water Board. There, the amount of water flowing into the Netherlands via the Geul is measured daily.
Length: 1.8 kilometers.
Average discharge: 8.5 liters per second. Average flow velocity: 0.15 m/second. Characteristic: always water-bearing.
Berversbergbeek Downstream, we pass the Bervers farm. The stream that flows right past it bears the name of that farm: the Berversbergbeek. This stream originates at the edge of the Vijlenerbos forest, 150 meters above N.A.P. to then flow into the Geul at 120 meters above sea level. From several springs at the edge of the forest, a small pond first forms. The spring water then flows freely down as a stream with a steep drop over a short distance (130 meters over a length of 1,800 meters). Along the source stream lie moist meadows and a few marshes. Higher up, barren ditches, hedgerows, hedges, ponds, and sunken roads enhance the landscape.
Rich flora and fauna Along the source stream, plants such as rough bedstraw, two-leaved goldenslaw, and pointed hawkweed grow. The alternating wet and dry conditions make it an ideal habitat for amphibians. The alpine newt, the palmate newt, the midwife toad, and in some places, the equally rare fire salamander, also occur here. The transition between the forests and the stream valley is a suitable habitat for mammals, such as the hazel dormouse and the Daubenton's bat.