The Nidda is a right tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Main river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in Hesse

Hesse

Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

.

It springs from the Vogelsberg

Vogelsberg Mountains

The Vogelsberg Mountains are a group duct of ancient volcanic activity and are separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda River and its valley....

 on the Taufstein mountain range near the town of Schotten

Schotten

Schotten is a town in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Larger towns nearby include Alsfeld in the north, Fulda in the east, Friedberg in the south and Gießen in the west.-Location:...

, flows through the Niddastausee dam, and the towns of Nidda

Nidda, city

Nidda is a town in the district Wetterau, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the Nidda river, approximately 40 km northeast of Frankfurt am Main.- Division of the town :...

, Niddatal

Niddatal

Niddatal is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the Nidda River, 6 km southeast of Friedberg, and 22 km northeast of Frankfurt am Main....

, Karben

Karben

Karben is a town in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the river Nidda in the Rhein-Main-Gebiet , approx...

, and Bad Vilbel

Bad Vilbel

Bad Vilbel is a spa town with many mineral waters. Bad Vilbel is the town with the most inhabitants in the Wetteraukreis district in Hessen, Germany. The city center of Bad Vilbel is located 8 km northeast of the center of Frankfurt am Main...

. At Harheim

Harheim (Frankfurt am Main)

Harheim is a district or Stadtteil and an Ortsbezirk of Frankfurt am Main, Germany.It is a possible birthplace of the Minnesinger Bernger von Horheim....

 it reaches the Frankfurt am Main city area and after 98 km enters the Main in Frankfurt's Höchst quarter

Höchst (Frankfurt am Main)

Höchst is a district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk West, and is subdivided into 4 Stadtbezirke.Höchst am Main became part of Frankfurt am Main in 1928 together with its boroughs Sindlingen, Unterliederbach and Zeilsheim. It is situated 10 km west of downtown...

.

In the twenties and sixties the flow of the Nidda was regulated to reduce the risk of floods. The original numerous meander

Meander

A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...

s turned into bayou

Bayou

A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...

s, while the riverbed was straightened and made deeper. Since 1993 the Nidda has been partially restored to its natural state and a bicycle path along the river was built as well.

The tributaries on the left are the Eichelbach and the Nidder

Nidder

The Nidder is a 68 km river in Hesse, Germany, and part of the Main-Rhine system.From its source at Herchenhainer Höhe it flows down to Bad Vilbel where it meets with the Nidda....

 and on the right the Horloff

Horloff

-See also:*List of rivers of Hesse...

, Wetter

Wetter (river)

The Wetter is small 69km long river in Hesse, Germany and right tributary to the Nidda.After leaving the Vogelsberg mountain range the river flows through the Wetterau, a fertile landscape just north of Frankfurt, which is named after the river. The principal towns the river along the river are...

, Erlenbach, Eschbach, Kalbach

Kalbach (Nidda)

Kalbach is a river of Hesse, Germany....

, Urselbach

Urselbach

Urselbach is a river of Hesse, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Hesse...

, Steinbach

Steinbach (Taunus)

Steinbach is a town in the Hochtaunuskreis that borders in the east on Frankfurt am Main. Other neighbouring towns are Oberursel, Kronberg im Taunus and Eschborn. It is in the German state of Hesse.-Location:...

, and Sulzbach.