The Great Nete is a tributary of the Nete in the Scheldt catchment area. It has a length of 44 kilometers (some sources say 70 to 80 km) and can not be navigated.
The Great Nete originates northeast of Hechtel. From Lier she flows together with the Little Net and forms the Nete or the Lower Nete. For whom the two Netes can not be divided well: the Big Nete is located south than the Little Net.
The Great Nete flows through the following municipalities: Meerhout, Balen, Geel-Oosterlo, along Laakdal, Westerlo, Herselt, Westmeerbeek, Hulshout, Booischot, Heist-op-den-Berg, Hallaar, Itegem, Herenthout, Berlaar, Kessel and Lier.
Its main tributaries are the Wimp, the Molse Nete and the Great Laak. Through the Great Laak, the Big Nete also received a lot of pollution from Tessenderlo Chemie.
Starting in 2013, Natuurpunt started to expand a connected nature area "Grote Netewoud" in the Great Nete resource area. Origin
For the last ice age (Weichselien), the Valley of the Great Nete was not yet severely destroyed. During the farthest ice age (Saalien), the Great Nete went down to the Dijle Valley via what is now the valley of the Laak. During the last ice age, vegetation decreased and large-scale erosion occurred. The discharged debris blocked the drain to Laak and the Great Nete flowed down to the Klein Nete valley.
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