The Saalbach is a 50 km long 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 Rhine River running through the German state of Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

. The river source is in the Kraichgau

Kraichgau

The Kraichgau is a hilly region in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Odenwald and the Neckar to the North, the Black Forest to the South, and the Upper Rhine Plain to the West. To the east, its boundary is considered to be the Stromberg, the Hardt, and the...

 region near the city of Bretten

Bretten

Bretten is a town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route.-Geography:Bretten lies in the centre of a rectangle that is formed by Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Heilbronn and Stuttgart as corners. It has a population of approximately 28,000. The centre of...

, formed by the confluence of the Weißach und Salzach Rivers. It then flows through Gondelsheim

Gondelsheim

Gondelsheim is a town in Northern Karlsruhe County in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route 3 km southeast of Bruchsal and shares a direct border with that city....

 to the northwest, then through Bruchsal

Bruchsal

Bruchsal is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany...

 and Dettenheim

Dettenheim

Dettenheim is a municipality in the district of Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....

. It then turns north through Philippsburg

Philippsburg

Philippsburg is a town in Germany, in the district of Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg.-History:Before 1632, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim".The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1371–1718...

before emptying into the Rhine.