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The Hinterrhein (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
;
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
: ''Reno Posteriore'';
Sutsilvan Romansh (; sometimes also spelled Romansch and Rumantsch; Sursilvan: ; Vallader, Surmiran, and Rumantsch Grischun: ; Putèr: ; Sutsilvan: , , ; Jauer: ) is a Gallo-Romance language spoken predominantly in the Swiss canton of the Gr ...
: ''Ragn Posteriur'';
Sursilvan Sursilvan (; also ''romontsch sursilvan'' ; Sursilvan, Vallader, Surmiran, Sutsilvan, and Rumantsch Grischun: ''sursilvan''; Puter: ''sursilvaun'') is a group of dialects of the Romansh language spoken in the Swiss district of Surselva. It is ...
: ''Rein Posteriur'';
Rumantsch Grischun Romansh (; sometimes also spelled Romansch and Rumantsch; Sursilvan: ; Vallader, Surmiran, and Rumantsch Grischun: ; Putèr: ; Sutsilvan: , , ; Jauer: ) is a Gallo-Romance language spoken predominantly in the Swiss canton of the ...
,
Vallader Vallader (Vallader, Sursilvan, Puter, Surmiran, and Rumantsch Grischun: ''vallader'' ; Sutsilvan: ') is a variety of the Romansh language spoken in the Lower Engadine valley (''Engiadina Bassa'') of southeast Switzerland, between Martina ...
, and Puter: ''Rain Posteriur''; Surmiran: ''Ragn posteriour''; en, Posterior Rhine) is one of the two initial
tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drain ...
of the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...
(shorter in length but bigger by volume) rising in the
canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...
of Graubünden in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.


Course

Flowing from the village Hinterrhein near the
San Bernardino Pass San Bernardino Pass ( it, Passo del San Bernardino, german: Bernhardinpass, ) is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting the Hinterrhein (river), Hinterrhein and the Mesolcina (Misox) valleys between Thusis (canton of Graubünden) and B ...
through the
Rheinwald The Rheinwald (from Latin ''Rheni vallis'' meaning "Rhine Valley"; Romansh: ''Valrain'') is a valley in the Canton of Grisons in Switzerland, the first section of the Hinterrhein valley. The river Hinterrhein flows through three valleys in the G ...
valley, the river flows into a gorge called Roflaschlucht. In this gorge an equally sized tributary, the
Avers Rhine , image = Averser Rhein im Ferreratal 1827.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The Avers Rhine in Val Ferrera valley, lithograph from 1827 , subdivision_type2 = Canton , subdivision_name2 = Graubünden, Swi ...
, adds waters from the deep Val Ferrera and the very remote alp
Avers Avers ( rm, Avras; wae, Òòver(s), , ) is a high Alpine valley region and a municipality in the Viamala Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It includes Juf, the highest-altitude year-round settlement in Europe. History Avers is first ...
and its side valley
Valle di Lei Lago di Lei is a reservoir in the Valle di Lei, powering the Hinterrhein storage power stations. The reservoir is almost entirely in Italy, but the barrage was built on territory ceded by Italy to Switzerland (municipality of Ferrera, Grisons) ...
on Italian territory. After the Rofla Gorge, the valley widens into a section called Schams. The Hinterrhein then reaches Andeer, before passing through another gorge, Viamala just before
Thusis Thusis ( it, Tosana, '' Romansh: Tusàn'') is a municipality in the Viamala Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Mutten merged into the municipality of Thusis. History Thusis is first mentioned ...
. Now another tributary of slightly bigger volume reaches the Hinterrhein as the Landwasser, draining a system of valleys, which is commonly known as
Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alps, Alpine resort town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, muni ...
joins via the Albula coming from the
Albula Pass The Albula Pass ( Romansh: ''Pass d'Alvra'' or , german: Albulapass) (el. 2312 m) is a Swiss mountain pass in the canton of Graubünden. It lies at the heart of the Albula Alps, on the watershed between the Albula, tributary of the Rhine and t ...
, which is also the name of a railway line that has become a
UNESCO world heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. Another big tributary of Albula river is Gelgia from the Julier pass area. After flowing to Rothenbrunnen through a valley called Domleschg (a valley with an incredible number of castles, showing the importance of transit in the area) the river is again left alone from civilisation in the
floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
''Isla Bella'' near
Rhäzüns Rhäzüns is a municipality in the Imboden Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. History Rhäzüns is first mentioned about 840 as ''Raezunne''. It formed a single parish with Bonaduz until the Reformation. It was part of the Grey League f ...
, before it joins the
Anterior Rhine The Vorderrhein (German; English: ''Anterior Rhine''; Sursilvan: ; Sutsilvan: ''Ragn Anteriur''; Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader, and Puter: ''Rain Anteriur''; Surmiran: ''Ragn anteriour'') is one of the two sources of the Rhine. Its catchment are ...
at Reichenau.


Significance

To learn about the importance of travel along the Hinterrhein, a multiday trekking route is signposted along the river from Thusis to
Splügen Splügen ( Romansh: ''Spleia'', Italian: ''Spluga'') is a former municipality in the Viamala Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2006 Splügen incorporated its neighbouring municipality of Medels im Rheinwald. On 1 January ...
, where it turns south to
Splügen Pass The Splügen Pass (german: Splügenpass; it, Passo dello Spluga; rm, Pass dal Spleia ) is an Alpine mountain pass of the Lepontine Alps. It connects the Swiss, Grisonian Splügen to the north below the pass with the Italian Chiavenna to the ...
, a historically important transit route to Italy. Nowadays there is no traffic across the Splügen pass in winter, whereas the route across its age-old rival, the
San Bernardino Pass San Bernardino Pass ( it, Passo del San Bernardino, german: Bernhardinpass, ) is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting the Hinterrhein (river), Hinterrhein and the Mesolcina (Misox) valleys between Thusis (canton of Graubünden) and B ...
, was given a long
road tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
in 1967 that made it possible to keep the road open all year.Road closures on passes in Graubünden
/ref>


References

Rivers of Switzerland Rivers of Graubünden Andeer Rheinwald Schams Sufers Zillis-Reischen Rongellen Sils im Domleschg Thusis Fürstenau, Switzerland Cazis Domleschg Rothenbrunnen Rhäzüns Domat/Ems Bonaduz {{Switzerland-river-stub