Hessel

For other uses, see Hessel (disambiguation).

Hessel

File:Versmold-Versmolder Bruch-Neue Hessel Alte Hessel.jpg
Confluence of the Neuer Hessel and the Alter Hessel near the nature reserve of Versmolder Bruch
Location	North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Reference no.	DE: 316
Length	39.337 km
Source	Northwest of Halle (Westf.) in the Teutoburg Forest
Source height	ca. 170 m above sea level (NN)
Mouth	Warendorf-Einen
Mouth height	ca. 48 m above sea level (NN)
Descent	ca. 122 m
Basin	Ems
Progression	Ems → North Sea
Catchment	212.528 km²
Discharge at Milte (4,3 km oberhalb der Mündung, Einzugsgebiet: 204,87 km²) gauge	Record low:     0 l/s (in 2005) Average low:    304 l/s Average mid:   2.12 m³/s Average high: 18.4 m³/s Record high:   33.6 m³/s (in 1986)
Right tributaries	Casumer Bach, Bruchbach, Aabach, Poggenfahrtgraben, Sandfortbach, Teichwiese, Wöstenbach, Beckstroth, Arenbecke, Speckengraben
Left tributaries	Alte Hessel, Lüffe Graben,

The Hessel is a 40-kilometre-long (25 mi), right tributary of the River Ems in the territory of the North Rhine-Westphalian districts of Gütersloh and Warendorf in northwest Germany.

The river rises northwest of Halle (Westf.) on the Große Egge, crosses the Hermannsweg, flows through the villages of Hesseln and Hörste in Halle borough, then through the borough of Versmold through Oesterweg, continuing through the town of Sassenberg and along the southern edge of Milte in the borough of Warendorf, before emptying into the Ems near Warendorf-Einen.

Tributaries include the Casumer Bach, Bruchbach, Aabach, Poggenfahrtgraben, Sandfortbach, Teichwiese, Wöstenbach, Beckstroth, Arenbecke and the Speckengraben.

The Snake's Head Meadows lie along the Hessel near Sassenberg, one of the few areas in Germany in which this strictly protected wildflower occurs.