The White Elster rises in the Elster Mountains west of the Kapellenberg at a height of 724 m above sea level. Its source is near Vyhledy, southeast of Aš in the Czech Republic, where it is called "Bélý Halštrov". The 257 km long river crosses the Saxon Vogtland with the towns of Oelznitz and Plauen, East Thuringia with Greiz and Gera and the Leipzig lowland bay with Zeitz and Leipzig. The course of the Elster is interrupted within Saxony-Anhalt. It enters Saxony-Anhalt territory for the first time near Wetterzeube (between Gera and Zeitz), but leaves it again behind Profen to flow through Saxony again from Pegau to Schkeuditz before flowing into the Saale south of Halle at around 80 m above sea level. The White Elster has a total catchment area of 5,384 km² and takes in around 40 streams and the tributaries Trieb, Göltzsch, Weida and Pleiße on its way. Within Leipzig it splits into two branches, the northern one remains the Elster and the southern one is called the Luppe, which flows into the Saale near Schkopau. The once strongly meandering Elster riverbed has been straightened in large sections.