The Gera is a 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 Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, a right tributary of the Unstrut

Unstrut

The Unstrut is a river in Germany and a left tributary of the Saale. It originates in northern Thuringia near Dingelstädt and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Basin...

. It originates in the Thuringian Forest

Thuringian Forest

The Thuringian Forest running northwest to southeast, forms a continuous stretch of ancient rounded mountains posing ample difficulties in transit routing save through a few navigable passes in the southern reaches of the German state of Thuringia. It is about long and wide...

, west of Ilmenau

Ilmenau

Ilmenau is a town located in the district of Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany.Ilmenau is situated in the valley of the Ilm river, at an altitude of 431 metres above sea level, and is the biggest town in Ilm-Kreis district, with 6,200 students studying at the Technische Universität Ilmenau. The...

. The Gera is formed in Plaue

Plaue

Plaue is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Gera, 11 km north of Ilmenau, and 8 km southwest of Arnstadt....

, by the confluence of the Wilde Gera and the Zahme Gera. It empties into the Unstrut in Straußfurt

Straußfurt

Straußfurt is a municipality in the Sömmerda district of Thuringia, Germany....

. The total length of the Gera (including Wilde Gera) is 85 km. The largest towns along the Gera are Arnstadt

Arnstadt

Arnstadt is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, situated on the Gera River. It is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia and is nicknamed Das Tor zum Thüringer Wald, The Gate to the Thuringian Forest....

 and Erfurt

Erfurt

Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...

. The city Gera

Gera

Gera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt...

 is not situated along the river Gera.

Along its way, Gera River splits up and reunites multiple times. Branches of the Gera are:

• Confluencing Tributaries: Wilde Gera, Zahme Gera
• Erfurt Area: Umflutgraben (constructed after 1873 in order to protect Erfurt from floodings, this was successful), Bergstrom, Breitstrom, Zahme Gera
• Between Erfurt and the Unstrut: Gera, Schmale Gera, Mahlgera

The original name of Gera River was Erphes River (Latin for brown, muddy water), which survived in the name of Erfurt

Erfurt

Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...

coming from “ford at Erphes River”.