The Uecker or Ucker 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 the northeastern German

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...

 states of Brandenburg

Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...

, where it is known as the Ucker, and of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its source lies in the Uckermark district, near the village Alt-Temmen. It flows north through Lake Oberuckersee, Lake Mollensee and Lake Unteruckersee, where the old town of Prenzlau

Prenzlau

Prenzlau , a city in the Uckermark District of Brandenburg in Germany, had a population of about 21,000 in 2005.-International relations:Prenzlau is twinned with: Uster, Switzerland Barlinek, Poland Świdwin, Poland...

 is situated. Near the small village of Nieden

Nieden

Nieden is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....

 (the border between Brandenburg and Vorpommern) the Ucker changes its name to Uecker. It flows further north through the towns Pasewalk

Pasewalk

Pasewalk is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. Located on the Uecker river, it is the capital of the former Uecker-Randow district, and the seat of the Uecker-Randow-Tal Amt of which it is not part.Pasewalk became a town during the 12th...

, Torgelow

Torgelow

Torgelow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the river Uecker, 12 km south of Ueckermünde, and 41 km northwest of Stettin....

 and passes Eggesin

Eggesin

Eggesin is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the river Uecker, 7 km southeast of Ueckermünde, and 42 km northwest of Szczecin.-Transport:...

 on the left site. Here the river Randow

Randow

Randow is a river in the Uckermark region of Brandenburg and the Vorpommern region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in part constituting these regions' frontier. An ancient name is Lochnitza, the town of Löcknitz derived its name from it. Since 1700, Randow is exclusively used.The source is near Penkun,...

 flows into the Uecker. In Ueckermünde

Ueckermünde

Ueckermünde is a seaport town in northeast Germany, located in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, Western Pomerania, near Germany's border with Poland . Ueckermünde has a long and varied history, going back to its founding by Slavs, known as the Uchri and mentioned in 934 by Widukind of Corvey...

, the Uecker flows into the Szczecin Lagoon, which is connected with the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 through the three straits Peenestrom

Peenestrom

The Peenestrom is a strait or river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is 20 Kilometers long and is the westernmost connection of the Szczecin Lagoon with the Baltic Sea. It is therefore also one of the three distributaries of the Oder....

, Świna

Swina

The Świna is a river in Poland flowing from the Oder Lagoon to the Baltic Sea, between the islands of Usedom and Wolin. It is a part of the Oder River estuary, and carries about 75% of that river's waterflow . It has a length of about 16 km...

 and Dziwna

Dziwna

The Dziwna is an eastern strait, river or a branch of the Oder River out of three straits connecting the Oder Lagoon with the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea, between the island of Wolin and the Polish mainland.Major towns on the Dziwna include:* Wolin...

.

The name "Uecker" originated in the Polabian

Polabian language

The Polabian language is an extinct West Slavic language that was spoken by the Polabian Slavs in present-day North-Eastern Germany around the Elbe river, from which derives its name...

 word vikru/vikrus, meaning "fast" or "quick". The Uecker gave its name to the Uckermark

Uckermark

Uckermark is a Kreis in the northeastern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Barnim and Oberhavel, the districts Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Vorpommern-Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and to the east Poland . It is the largest district of Germany areawise...

 historical region and to the two districts Uckermark and Uecker-Randow

Uecker-Randow

Uecker-Randow was a Kreis in the eastern part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. The district was created on June 12, 1994 by merging the previous districts Pasewalk, Ueckermünde and part of the district Strasburg...

.