The river Simme () is a tributary of the river
Kander in the
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...
in the
canton of Bern
The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...
in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. It is approximately long and has a
catchment area
A catchment area in human geography, is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
of .
The river Simme begins at the Alpine lake of ''Flueseeli'' (lit.: "Little Lake of the Flue") () on the secluded Alpine meadow just above the ''Flueschafberg'' cliffs. But right afterwards, one level and lower, below the Flueschafberg cliffs, on the Alpine meadow called ''Rezliberg'', it converges with several creeks which have even higher springs, such as the
Truebbach, the ''Rezligletscherbach'', and the ''Ammertenbach''. This area is located west of the mountain range
Wildstrubel, and to the north of and below the
Glacier de la Plaine Morte (), and about south of the resort of
Lenk. Underneath the Rezliberg it forms the ''Simmenfälle'', several waterfalls, which have, altogether, a drop of .
The river then flows roughly to the north and passes Lenk and flows towards
Zweisimmen
Zweisimmen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen (administrative district), Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
History
Zweisimmen is first mentioned in 1228 ...
through the
Obersimmental (Upper Simme Valley), where it converges with the ''Kleine Simme'' from the west, which origines in the mountains above
Saanenmöser. Saanenmöser is also a small pass towards
Saanen and
Gstaad
Gstaad ( , ) is a town in the German language, German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst high society ...
.
From Zweisimmen the Simme flows further north until ''Riedenbach'' where it smoothly turns east and runs now through the
Niedersimmental (Lower Simme Valley). In
Oey it converges with the ''Chirel'' of the
Diemtigtal from the south.
After the village of
Wimmis
Wimmis is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental (administrative district), Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland.
Histo ...
and southwest of
Spiez
Spiez is a town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality on the shore of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland region of the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Bern. It is part of the Frutigen-Niedersimmental (administrative district), Frutigen-Nied ...
, the Simme turns north again and joins the river Kander, which reaches the
Lake Thun
Lake Thun () is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton.
The lake was created after the last gl ...
after ).
See also
*
List of rivers of Switzerland
The following is a list of rivers of Switzerland (and tributaries thereof). Included rivers flow either entirely or partly through Switzerland or along its international borders. Swiss rivers belong to five drainage basins, i.e. of the Rhine, th ...
References
*
Swisstopo
Swisstopo is the official name for the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, Switzerland's national mapping agency.
The current name was made official in 2002. It had been used as the domain name for the homepage of the instituteswisstopo.admi ...
br>
Map
{{Authority control
Rivers of Switzerland
1Simme
Rivers of the canton of Bern