Note: The Main River is a long, navigable river that rises in northern Bavaria and flows westward into the Rhine at Mainz. It has a length of 326 miles. It originates at the confluences of the Weisser Main and the Roter Main to the east of Germany, and winds its way in the general westerly direction, changing directions often, until it enters the Rhine River above the city of Mainz. It has been canalized upstream to Bamberg and forms part of the Main Danube Canal connecting the Danube and Main Rivers. Thus it forms a part of a 2200 miles waterway from the North Sea to the Black Sea.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online (2002-2014) "Main River." Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2002-. http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=51390&tocid=0&query=main&ct=eb (15 June 2004)