The Rappbode is a right-hand, southwestern tributary of the River Bode in the Harz mountains in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...

. In its lower reaches it is impounded by the Rappbode Dam

Rappbode Dam

The Rappbode Dam is the largest dam in the Harz region as well as the highest dam in Germany. Together with several other dams and retention basins, it forms the flood protection system for the eastern Harz.- The individual dams :...

, the largest dam in the Harz.

The Rappbode rises east of the B 4

Bundesstraße 4

The Bundesstraße 4 is a German federal highway running in a northwesterly to southly direction from the state of Schleswig-Holstein to Bavaria...

 federal road near the Jägerfleck at the junction of the three federal states of Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

, Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...

 and 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....

. Its source is about 3 km southwest of Benneckenstein and southeast of Hohegeiß

Hohegeiß

The health resort and winter sports village of Hohegeiß lies in the Harz Mountains between Braunlage and Benneckenstein at a height of between 570 to . Since 1 July 1972 Hohegeiß has been part of the borough of Braunlage in the district of Goslar in Lower Saxony...

 at a height of . ON the opposite side of the B 4 there are numerous source streams of the river Zorge

Zorge (river)

The Zorge is a tributary of the River Helme in central Germany. It is about 40 km long and flows from the state of Lower Saxony into Thuringia...

. The Rappbode flows in a mainly northeastern direction through the villages of Benneckenstein and Trautenstein

Trautenstein

Trautenstein is a village in the borough of Oberharz am Brocken in the district of Harz in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Trautenstein has 493 inhabitants .- Geography :...

, before it enters the Rappbode Auxiliary Dam

Rappbode Auxiliary Dam

The Rappbode Auxiliary Dam is one of the two auxiliary dams in the Rappbode Dam system. This is the heart of the Rappbode Dam system in the East Harz, which is operated by the Saxony-Anhalt Dam Company and which also includes the Hassel Auxiliary Dam and the Königshütte, Mandelholz and Wendefurth...

 and, shortly thereafter, the Rappbode Dam itself. It is united with the Bode further downstream at the Wendefurth Dam

Wendefurth Dam

The Wendefurth Dam near Wendefurth in the Harz is one of the dams downstream of the Rappbode Dam, that provides flood protection as well as impounding the River Bode to provide the lower reservoir for the Wendefurth Power Station...

downstream.