Moosalb (Schwarzbach) 1.37

The Moosalb is a stream in West Palatinate in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The upper Moosalb valley is also called the Hammertal on account of the many witnesses, in the form of ruined buildings and structures, to the iron smelting and working industries of the 18th and 19th centuries.Course and tributariesThe Moosalb rises in the heart of the Palatine Forest west of the Palatine Watershed at a height of about 450 metres. East of its source lies the village of Johanniskreuz which belongs to Trippstadt. Initially the Moosalb flows roughly westwards before heading south. After just under 26 km it empties into the Schwarzbach, also known here as the Burgalbe, at Waldfischbach-Burgalben.The biggest tributary of the Moosalb is the 15.8 km long Aschbach, which – like the Moosalb comes from the Palatine Forest. It joins from the right at Karlstal station and delivers more than half as much water again as the Moosalb. At Steinalben it is joined from the right by the Queidersbach, whose source lies on the Sickingen Heights.SightsKarlstal – upstream of the confluence of the Moosabl with the Aschbach is the valley of Karlstal, a largely natural and rocky narrow valley, about 4 kilometres long.