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High Rhine (, ; kilometres 0 to 167 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the city of Basel, flowing in a general east-to-west direction and forming mostly the Germany–Switzerland border. It is the first of four named sections of the Rhine (High Rhine, Upper Rhine, Middle Rhine, Lower Rhine) between Lake Constance and the river delta at the North Sea.
In contrast to the Alpine Rhine (the main tributary of Lake Constance) and Upper Rhine, which both flow mainly in a south-to-north direction, the High Rhine flows mostly from east to west. Between Schaffhausen and the confluence with the Töss, it flows from north to south for about , with a distinct meander at Rheinau. In its eastern portion, the river passes through the Molasse basin (passing south of the Hegau region), while in its western part it traverses the Table Jura before entering the Upper Rhine Plain at Basel, where it turns northwards.
In its western section, the High Rhine mostly marks the border between Germany and Switzerland except in the Swiss canton of Basel-Stadt. In the eastern part, there are several disconnected areas of Switzerland to the north of the river (canton of Schaffhausen and Rafzerfeld of the canton of Zurich). The German enclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein is located on the northern bank of the High Rhine, surrounded by Swiss territory.
With , the Aare has a larger discharge than the Rhine (). From a hydrological point of view, therefore, the Rhine is a tributary of the Aare, not vice versa. The Rhine is, however, generally considered the main stream, because it is slightly longer than the Aare.
The rapids in the High Rhine should be viewed in the context of the relatively high slope—from a.s.l. in just —and the change of the river's course during the Würm ice age. In Neuhausen am Rheinfall, the river falls into a previously buried stream channel, forming the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen. The next rapids are the Kadelburg Rapids at Koblenz AG. Near Laufenburg, the post-glacial Rhine failed to find the old silted-up channel and hit a spur of Black Forest crystal. The river cut itself a gorge, containing the Laufenburg Rapids. The Laufenburg and Schwörstadt Rapids have been artificially eliminated by blowing up the rocks and raising the water level with dams.
Between Stein am Rhein and Diessenhofen, the High Rhine is not levee. The first power plant along the Rhine is located in Schaffhausen; it has a damming effect to slightly above Diessenhofen. The next power plant ( Kraftwerk Reckingen) is located at Rekingen and Küssaberg. After Rekingen, the High Rhine flows freely through the Koblenz Rapids to the confluence with the Aare. The next hydropower plant (the Kraftwerk Albbruck-Dogern), is at Leibstadt and Dogern. There are seven more power plants between here and Basel. Altogether, the High Rhine has eleven dams and twelve hydropower plants (there are two plants at the Augst/Wyhlen Dam.
The most important organizations for cross-border cooperation on the High Rhine are High Rhine Commission and High Rhine Agency.
Authorities on the Baden-Württemberg side of the river are organized in a framework called Regionalverband Hochrhein-Bodensee ("Regional cooperation High Rhine — Lake Constance").
On the Swiss side, the river is followed by (from west to east) the Bözberg railway line (between and ) the Koblenz–Stein-Säckingen railway line (section between Laufenburg and Koblenz is closed to passenger trains), the Winterthur–Bülach–Koblenz railway line (between Koblenz and ), the Eglisau–Neuhausen railway line between and (briefly venturing through German territory crossing the Jestetten), the Rheinfall Railway line (between and ), and the Lake Line between Schaffhausen and .
The High Rhine is crossed by (from west to east) the Basel Connecting Line (between and Basel Bad Bf), the Turgi–Koblenz–Waldshut railway line between Koblenz and Waldshut, the Eglisau–Neuhausen railway line (between and ), the Rheinfall Railway line (between and Neuhausen), the Lake Line between and Schaffhausen, and the Etzwilen–Singen railway line (between and , used as a heritage railway only).
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