Schelde, river, Europe, rising in northern France. It flows north past the cities of Cambrai and Valenciennes and, entering Belgium, passes Tournai, Oudenaarde, Ghent, Dendermonde, and Antwerp, having received, among other tributaries, the Lys and the Dender rivers. Opposite South Beveland, the Netherlands, it divides into two arms. The left or southern, called the Western Schelde, flows south of South Beveland and Walcheren and empties into the North Sea at the city of Flushing; the right or northern arm, called the Eastern Schelde, passes to the north of South Beveland and North Beveland. The river is navigable for most of its 435-km (270-mi) length. Between Antwerp and the sea dykes extend about 65 km (40 mi) along each bank to protect against flooding.